‘Kobe is the best and no one .... comes close’

LAKERS: Don't believe the hype or numbers. Kobe Bryant is the best player in basketball and no one, not even LeBron James, comes close. The champion Lakers play the Cavaliers on Christmas Day, and of course it's billed as Kobe vs. LeBron. The truth is, the only thing the two truly have in common is they're Nike puppets. One Eastern Conference scout said there's no comparison between Bryant and James, noting the difference in how they perform in the clutch. Bryant has numerous game-winners, while James has a handful. "Kobe is a killer, and to be that, you must be selfish," the scout said. "Kobe has a level of arrogance that he doesn't give a (darn) what anyone thinks. LeBron has always had to share, ever since his childhood. It's not in him to be selfish. Whatever that 'it' is, Kobe has it and LeBron doesn't yet. (James) can get to a point where he's dangerous, but to Kobe's level? I don't think so." Vincent Goodwill in the Detroit News

CAVALIERS: "The evening turned into a showcase for Kings rookie Tyreke Evans, who displayed his wide array of talents and won over everyone on the Cavs' bench with his ability. He scored 28 points and had five assists. The problem was he had to play against James, who flexed his superstar muscle in what could only be described as a breathtaking matchup that probably held more entertainment value than when James faces Kobe Bryant on Christmas Day." Brian Windhorst in the Cleveland Plain Dealer

BLAZERS: "The Blazers (19-12) had just nine healthy bodies available against the Spurs (15-11),and one of them, Anthony Tolliver, is a recent NBA Development League call-up whom the Blazers signed only because the NBA granted them a hardship exception. Two others, Jeff Pendergraph and Dante Cunningham, are rookies who were second-round draft picks in June. And Pendergraph, injured for most of the season, played in just his second NBA game. At one point in the first half, the Blazers had three players from their NBA Summer League team -- Bayless, Cunningham and Pendergraph -- on the court at the same time. Which makes the victory all the more stunning." Joe Freeman in the Oregonian

BUCKS: "The Milwaukee Bucks' defensive deficiencies were glaring Wednesday night at the Bradley Center. And the glare was so bad that Bucks center Andrew Bogut wasn't mincing his words after the Bucks' 109-97 loss to the Washington Wizards. 'We need to get everybody on the same page with this team. Everybody needs to come out and play the same way; it's as simple as that,' Bogut said. 'We have defensive schemes for a reason. I'm not sure if we were tired today or what it was. But we just weren't with it defensively at all. Guys were blowing assignments. How many games have we played now, 27 games? We've probably had 100 practices.'" Charles F. Gardner in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

CELTICS: "(Pierce) missed yesterday’s team flight to Orlando for tomorrow’s Christmas Day game against the Magic, and will miss the entire four-city road trip. Estimates for his absence range from 1-2 weeks, though general manager Danny Ainge called them “huge guesses, though they’re probably as good as any." Mark Murphy in the Boston Herald

HAWKS: "Evidently, thin air, the weariness of travel and the Nuggets themselves make for a formidable opponent. The Nuggets are 13-1 at home this season and have won 23 of their last 24 regular-season games at the Pepsi Center, dating back to last season. At altitude, guard Jamal Crawford said, 'Your chest burns. It feels like you're running in mud.'" Ken Suguira in the Atlanta Journal Constitution

HEAT: "Amid this most uneven six-game homestand, Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra repeatedly had stressed his team's offensive improvement. Then Wednesday's game against the Utah Jazz began, and it was, well, truly offensive. The Heat led 32-30 at halftime. Yes halftime, in the lowest-scoring first-half in the NBA this season." Ira Winderman in the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel

JAZZ: "When Eric Maynor phoned and said he'd been traded to Oklahoma City — three days before Christmas — Jazz guard Ronnie Price, napping at the time, thought his teammate was joking. It's what NBA players do. Maynor, however, wasn't kidding." Tim Buckley in the Deseret News

KINGS: "During the recent stretch that should forever be known in Kings land as Tyreke's Week, the game of rookie guard Tyreke Evans had been assessed by a number of scouts, coaches and media types in this way: If Evans ever develops a consistent jumpshot, it just wouldn't be fair. He would be like LeBron James, in other words." Sam Amick in the Sacramento Bee

KNICKS: "There is a sad irony to David Lee’s continued emergence as a budding All-Star power forward. The better he plays, the more likely Lee will command a contract too rich for the Knicks’ salary cap. If the Knicks sign a player to maximum contract in 2010, a la LeBron James, they will have about $10 million left over to offer Lee in the first year of a long-term deal. If the Knicks continue their winning surge, and if Lee gets named to his first All-Star Game as a reserve, $10 million may not be enough. Lee acknowledged there’s no telling what his future holds now that he will be an unrestricted free agent and the Knicks can’t match any offer. Lee’s preference, though, is to stay here if the money is all the same." Marc Berman in the New York Post

MAGIC: "Dear Santa, Remember about a month ago when you were checking your list twice to see whether a certain basketball coach had been naughty or nice? Well, hold off on delivering that lump of coal. Stan Van Grinch, er, Van Gundy, is making encouraging progress toward civility….. The most impatient of patients is doing quite well, thank you. Van Gundy's journey of self-discovery has been noticed by the people who matter most: His Orlando Magic players. 'He's most definitely changed,' forward Rashard Lewis said. 'He's still the old Stan a little bit. He still kind of screams and yells when he doesn't need to, but you can tell he's been working on it. You can tell he's changing.'" Brian Schmitz in the Orlando Sentinel

NETS: "'Twas the night before the night before Christmas . . . and the Nets still lost. They had Yi Jianlian back from a knee injury, and he made a big difference. They shot the 3-ball better than they have all season, making nine. Keyon Dooling played a season high minutes and excelled. Courtney Lee shot like Courtney Lee is supposed to shoot. Devin Harris drove and pushed the ball and scored. And the Nets still lost -- against the second worst team in the NBA. So it didn't matter if it was the night before the night before Christmas or the Fourth of July or Income Tax Filing Extension Day. They lost." Fred Kerber in the New York Post

Slideshow   The Week in Sports Pictures The Giants on top of the football world, getting ready for the London Olympics and more. more photos

NUGGETS: "The game ceased being a game — like, you know, with five-on-five competition — and it became one man's crowd-rising, hair-raising exhibition (think Evel Knievel with a jumper). In the fourth quarter of the Nuggets' 124-104 victory over the Atlanta Hawks, J.R. Smith would collect a pass and the Pepsi Center fans would pop out of their seats, their "aaahs!" increasing until Smith's release — for then they became capital-A "AAAhs!" The Denver guard sank four fourth-quarter 3-pointers and was 10-for-17 on the night from beyond the arc en route to a game-high 41 points, five short of his career high. 'It's like throwing rocks into the ocean,' said Smith, who became the first player in NBA history to tally multiple games with 10 or more 3s in his career." Benjamin Hochman in the Denver Post

SPURS: "Forget beating teams over .500, against whom the Spurs are now 2-10 this season. On Wednesday, they couldn't quite handle Portland's JV. 'This is the NBA,' Spurs guard Roger Mason Jr. said. 'One guy goes down, another guy gets an opportunity.'" Jeff McDonald in the San Antonio Express News

THUNDER: "The Thunder owns wins over playoff quality caliber teams — Orlando at home and road wins against San Antonio, Utah and Miami. But the past month Oklahoma City was 0-8 against Boston, Cleveland, Denver, Dallas, Phoenix, the Lakers (twice) and Houston (two losses). In several of those games the Thunder failed to finish strong. Not this time." Mike Baldwin in the Daily Oklahoman

Also on NBCSports.com Beyond the Arc: No. 11 Mich. St. takes big step forward Chandler: Jeremy Lin was special even in 8th grade What NFC teams need this offseason  |  And AFC DeMarco: Dodgers could become a contender Follow us on Twitter: @NBCSports  |  And Facebook