Michael Ventre

It was only last May that Kobe Bryant had advanced to the finals. He got past the first round of interviews ripping the Lakers and demanding a trade, then burrowed through the second round of interviews, then the third round, all the while showing the determination for which he has become renowned.

Then he reached the finals, which in this scenario was represented by a few half-hearted phone calls to the Chicago Bulls by the Lakers regarding a possible trade of their superstar.

That kind of experience at this time of year is invaluable, because soon Bryant should make the jump from those dubious finals of last year’s spring of discontent to the 2008 NBA Finals, where he will celebrate a championship.

My, how far he has come.

For that matter, the Lakers themselves have experienced a personal and professional odyssey that has brought them to or near the top of the elite free-for-all that is the Western Conference race. They now have that look in their eyes that comes from assessing each other and the way they’re performing and concluding, “We got it.”

Kobe Bryant is the most prominent beneficiary of this sudden ascension to power, but he is by no means the only one. Just about every Laker has improved in some way, and the parts have made the whole into an enviable collection of talent, experience and hunger.

To say that the Lakers will win it all this year is not to diminish the opposition, because the other contenders — especially in the West — are all confident and committed. This will not be a saunter, but rather a slog, and uphill at that. And when the Lakers wade through the West, they will very likely meet up with the Boston Celtics, their storied rivals who are feeling as good about themselves as the Lakers are about themselves.

But for a variety of reasons, this crown will end up in Laker Nation, an unfathomable notion less than a year ago.

First and foremost, there is defense. These Lakers aren’t nearly as consistently suffocating on defense as the Celtics, but they have been more effective than the giveaway spree of last season, when they were 25^th in the NBA in points allowed, serving up an average of over 103 per contest.

This year, the Lakers contest shots. They would challenge even more shooters if they had Andrew Bynum in the lineup. But he’s been out since Jan. 13 with a knee injury, and although the club keeps releasing news flashes of hope on the subject, he will probably be of no help during these playoffs.

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But without Bynum, the Lakers still have people who like to swat shots. Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom are the two most notable, but Ronny Turiaf and Bryant also like to get in on the act. And before they even try to block shots, harassers like Jordan Farmar and Derek Fisher are active in stripping the ball.

In general, the Lakers have a defensive mentality that wasn’t there last year, and their ability to keep the opponents’ score down has taken pressure off their offense.

Yet their offense is much improved also. The addition of Gasol, who has been good for more than 18 points and eight rebounds a game, has given the Lakers a championship dimension. It has relieved the scoring burden resting on Kobe, and it also has freed up Odom to play some of the best basketball he has exhibited since he came into the league.

When the big three of Bryant, Gasol and Odom are in need of aide, they’ve gotten it all year with a vastly improved supporting cast that includes Fisher, Farmer, Luke Walton, Vladimir Radmanovic, Sasha Vujacic and Turiaf.