Kobe Bryant can feel it. He can see it. He can almost taste it.
Like a true Black Mamba, Bryant senses that his prey, the San Antonio Spurs, are weak, wounded and ready to be taken out. The Lakers took a 3-1 series lead Tuesday night in San Antonio thanks to Bryant and can close out the Spurs Thursday night at Staples Center.
Bryant has waited four years to get to this point. A lot of sweat, a lot of grief and a whole lotta stress. Now, he's 48 minutes away from getting back to the stage that he practically grew up in .... the NBA Finals.
The journey was not easy and certainly wasn't very pleasant. Even the ever-confident Bryant had his doubts about returning back to the mountain top.
He hit rock bottom in 2005 when the Lakers missed the playoffs entirely and the franchise was on shaky ground. Then came the playoff collapse in 2006 when the Lakers blew a 3-1 series lead on Phoenix and Kobe was crucified for not shooting enough in the Suns' run-away victory in Game 7. To make matters worse, Bryant was forced to watch from home as former teammate Shaquille O'Neal hoisted the Larry O'Brien trophy in 2006.
Phoenix made it easier on the Lakers in last year's playoffs by eliminating L.A. in five games. That playoff exit hit Bryant so hard that it led to his infamous Summer meltdown where he blasted Lakers management for not giving him a better squad to work with.
The steady climb back to the top started with the re-signing of Bryant's former backcourt mate, Derek Fisher, to replace the inconsistent Smush Parker. Then came the Andrew Bynum injury, which turned out to be the blessing in disguise because it forced the Lakers to make a move. That move turned into the acquisition of Pau Gasol. Once Gasol landed in L.A., the Lakers blasted all the way to the top of the Western Conference.
And now, Bryant is 48 minutes away from scaling Mt. Finals.
Keywords: Kobe Bryant, Laker, Spurs
