Kobe Bryant Indeed a Man on a Mission

Filed under: Celtics, Lakers, NBA Playoffs, NBA Finals

LOS ANGELES -- The footage from Game 1 of the NBA Finals is making the rounds. Even though his Lakers have a comfortable lead in the fourth quarter, Kobe Bryant is sitting stone-faced just a few feet from Chris Rock as the comedian is cracking jokes his way.



"I don't even hear,'' says ABC analyst Mark Jackson, speaking for Bryant. "I'm on a mission.''



Jackson was right. Speaking Friday, the day after his Lakers beat Boston 102-89 in Game 1, Bryant said he didn't "know anything about it until it was mentioned to me after the game'' that Rock was trying to speak with him.



And, as far as Bryant being a man on a mission, that's been the case for a while. He rarely has smiled during this postseason. At press conferences, he often gives answers with one or just a few words.



Actually, it's been that way for a while. Bryant, 31, hasn't been cracking many jokes at three Finals in a row.



Not that he was the life of the party back when the Lakers were winning titles in 2000, 2001 and 2002 and Bryant was in his early 20s, teaming with center Shaquille O'Neal. But he's clearly brought a different temperament to the Finals in 2008, lost by the Lakers to Boston; 2009, won by the Lakers over Orlando; and to this one.



"(It) just comes from understanding opportunities not coming along very often and making sure you focus in and take full advantage of it,'' Bryant, averaging 29.5 points this postseason, said of the difference. "I want to make sure we don't leave any stones unturned. ... You can't let any opportunities go to waste (when getting older).''

 

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Full story at http://nba.fanhouse.com/2010/06/05/kobe-bryant-indeed-a-man-on-a-mission/