Lakers' Bryant a changed man
Deron Williams sees as much on the court.
Luke Walton sees it on, and off.
"It's just little things — taking guys out to dinner, spending more time with people, talking and explaining," said Walton, the son of NBA legend Bill Walton and a teammate of the particularly private Bryant for five seasons in Los Angeles.
"You know, he's such a great talent that for him, sometimes, I think it's frustrating when people don't understand what he's trying to explain, or what other teams are doing out there," Walton added.
"And I think before (he) used to be a lot more negative toward his teammates, as opposed to now pulling people to the side, talking to them, figuring out ways to figure it out together instead of just coming down hard on them."
Though in just his third NBA season, Williams vividly recalls the not-long-ago days in which Bryant — who once dropped 52 points in a 2006 Laker win over the Jazz — "shot 45 times in a game."
"He such a great scorer," the Jazz point guard said, "and that's what he had to do to help his team win."
Now, though, the snapshot of Bryant is one of someone who actually seems to get the big picture.
Williams has experienced the transformation first-hand during not only four 2007-08 regular-season games between the Lakers and the Jazz — L.A. won three of them — but also during the ongoing NBA Western Conference semifinal playoff series between the two teams.
During the season, Bryant was the Lakers' top scorer in all four games, though never with more than 33 points.
In Game 1 of the series, he scored 38 — but also dished seven assists.
"You could tell, after Shaq (O'Neal) left (the Lakers), there was a point where (Bryant) didn't really trust guys with the ball, with taking those big shots," Williams said before Wednesday night's late-starting Game 2 in the best-of-seven series. "Maybe he'd try to shoot over three people instead of passing it.
"But now," he added, "you can just tell he's got full confidence in his team, and he makes extra passes."
And that is appreciated even more than picking up the check, which Bryant has done at a couple recent team-bonding dinners.
That includes one in which the West's No. 1 seed Lakers, having already disposed of Denver in four straight first-round games, watched the Jazz eliminate Houston from the opening round of postseason play.
"He's definitely more patient," Walton said. "He's having more fun. And I think he's enjoying it more himself now that the team's going like this."
E-mail: tbuckley@desnews.com
Recent comments
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Re: Correction | May 9, 2008 at 12:14 a.m.
Stockton and Malone were co-MVP's
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