Kobe Disses All His Teammates Except Metta World Peace

In a presser after last night’s game 6 against the Nuggets, Kobe Bryant was very candid with the media. Last night, Kobe was fighting a stomach bug, and appeared to be the only one fighting to win. When asked about the game, Kobe said, “[Metta World Peace is] the one guy I can rely on, night in and night out, to compete and play with a sense of urgency, with no fear. I'm looking forward to having that by my side again.”

Kobe, who is usually very diplomatic and backs up his teammates, really challenged them in this press conference. It seems that being sick was the best way for him to get his true feelings out there.

Even when he is horribly ill, Kobe still scored 31 points, and barely played in the fourth. Bynum scored 11 and Gasol had a shameful three points. There’s no doubting that Kobe has truly carried the team through the last two games. Coach Mike Brown was also uncharacteristically critical of the two bigs, as well he should be. Brown said he’s going to need more out of Gasol and Bynum as they are the number two and three players on the team.

The Lakers get Metta World Peace back Saturday night to help close out what has been a drawn out first round series against the Nuggets. He was averaging 15 points in the games leading up to the post-season. Besides that, it’s his attitude that can really help the Lakers out. Like Kobe said, he’s trying to win night in and night out. World Peace brings a certain intensity and passion to the team that they have really been lacking. They look like they did last year against the Mavericks, which did not end well.

To win against the Nuggets and go all the way, the Lakers need a spark. They need what the Chicago Bulls had at the end of their series. While the Bulls lost, they went down fighting. They’d lost their two best players, but still made the Celtics work to win that series. That’s the kind of fight the Lakers need, and that Kobe should expect.