Lakers Not Ready to Call Nuggets a Rival

February 27th, 2010 | Tags: joey graham, kobe bryant, MMA, NBA, phil jackson

Filed under: Lakers , Nuggets LOS ANGELES — To the Lakers , the Nuggets are like that bothersome little brother who always wants to offer a challenge. For the little brother, it might be marbles, ping-pong or checkers. For the Nuggets, it’s challenging the Lakers’ supremacy in the NBA’s Western Conference. The little brother sometimes wins, but the big brother usually takes charge when it counts. Then again, if the little guy practices hard enough, sometimes even that can change. So far this season, the Nuggets are 2-0 against the Lakers, with Game 3 Sunday at the Staples Center. You’d think Denver, which has won the games by an average margin of 19.5 points, really has gotten the attention of the Lakers. But that’s not completely true. Lakers center Andrew Bynum did call it a “statement” game, one his team needs to win. But teammate and star guard Kobe Bryant quickly shot that down. “He’s young,” Bryant said of Bynum. “I don’t think it’s a statement. I think it’s an important game in terms of stepping up and responding to the challenge, their physicality. … But ‘statement game’ is a little too strong.” ? Permalink ?|? Email this ?|? Linking?Blogs ?|? Comments

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