Kobe as Superman is Lakers' only chance in Finals

LOS ANGELES -- Kobe Bryant walks into the Staples Center hours before a basketball game looking sharp. He's in a suit, generally something dark, maybe charcoal gray. He wears wingtips. Nice tie. Leather belt. Looks like he's ready for business, like a modern-day Clark Kent.

Nice try, Kobe. But it's time to be Superman.

Kobe Bryant has to put his defensive credentials on the line and guard Paul Pierce. (AP)

This isn't a fair thing to ask of Bryant, or of any player, but fairness has nothing to with this discussion. We're not talking like Allen Iverson. We're not talking about practice. Practice? It's just practice.

No. We're talking like Jim Mora. Playoffs? Playoffs!

This is the playoffs. These are the NBA Finals. Do the Lakers want to win, or do they just want to compete? Because if they're here to compete, they can keep doing what they're doing. They can hide their best defensive player, who is also their best offensive player, by having him guard a guy who cannot shoot (Rajon Rondo) or a guy who cannot drive (Sam Cassell) or a guy who cannot do either (Eddie House).

The Lakers can continue to protect Bryant on defense to conserve his energy for offense, and the result will be a competitive series that will end in six games, with Boston on top.

Or the Lakers can ask Kobe Bryant to be Superman, because that's what it will take for the Lakers to beat Boston. Kobe Bryant must be Superman.

He must defend Paul Pierce.

Here's where I need to backtrack for a second, and give you Celtics fans your due. Yes, yes, yes -- I was the one (or one of the ones) who said the Lakers were too good for Boston. Or more to the point, that Kobe Bryant was too good for Boston. I said the Lakers would win the NBA Finals. That was me. And obviously that was mistaken.

Boston is the better team. Boston's Big Three is twice as good as the Lakers' Big Three. Bryant is the best player on the floor, but Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen are No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4. Rajon Rondo, assuming his ankle heals from that Game 3 twist, is equal to the Lakers' Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom in terms of game-changing effectiveness. The Celtics' bench is better than the Lakers' bench. The Celtics have the home-court advantage, too.

In other words, the Lakers cannot win the NBA Finals unless Kobe Bryant is even better than I thought he'd be. And I'm a big fan of Bryant's game. I thought he'd be super.

That won't be enough.

He has to be Superman.