Lakers’ Bryant always draws a crowd

Kobe Bryant will make his only local appearance of the year on Monday when the Los Angeles Lakers visit the Wells Fargo Center, making this a big event on the 76ers' calendar even though Bryant's team has been far from dominant this season.

The Lakers are 14-10 after Saturday's 96-87 loss at Utah. If the playoffs were held today, they would be the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference. And there are three teams not in the top eight that could vie for a postseason berth: Houston, Memphis, and Minnesota.

That said, the Lakers are the NBA's No. 2 draw on the road, averaging 19,061. The only better road draw is the resurgent Los Angeles Clippers, who will make their only Wells Fargo Center stop on Friday.

The Lakers' popularity is chiefly due to Bryant. At 33, the former Lower Merion High star is in his 16th NBA season and keeps producing at the highest of levels, averaging 29.4 points per game.

When asked after Saturday's 98-87 win in Atlanta whether Bryant brings extra electricity to the building, forward Andre Iguodala didn't hesitate.

"I think so," Iguodala said. "He's the best player in the game. Second-best player of all time, in my opinion."

No. 1?

"M.J., of course," Iguodala said, referring to Michael Jordan.

As with most players who have spent more than a decade and half in the league, Bryant has had to make adjustments.

"He has done a great job of getting the most out of his body," said Iguodala, who draws the defensive assignment against Bryant. "He doesn't have that great athletic ability that he used to have, and he's not as explosive as he used to be going to the basket, but he's mastered that mid-range game and he's still so dangerous in the post."

Coming home never gets old to Bryant.

"You start out at 16 years old [and] now here I am at 33 - so I think it's more special now," Bryant told Lakers broadcaster John Ireland after Saturday's game, in comments the team provided to The Inquirer.

Bryant and the Lakers expect the Sixers to present the toughest of challenges.

"Well, they're a tough team, they're obviously playing great basketball, and we're going to have our hands full because they are such a young team, very energetic team, and we are an old, slow team," Bryant told Ireland. "So, you know it's going be a matter of whose style of play is going to dominate on that particular night."

Bryant has a 25.4-point career average, but according to Basketball-Reference.com, his average in 28 career regular-season games against the Sixers is 22.6 points - 22.5 in 17 games in Philadelphia. (He averaged 26.6 points and 7.8 rebounds when the Lakers beat the Sixers in five games during the 2001 NBA Finals).

Iguodala calls Bryant a high-volume shooter.

"Kobe puts everything together with his talents, his skill, his recognition," Iguodala said. "I may have guarded guys with more talent and maybe guys with more skill, but nobody puts it all together like Kobe does."

The Sixers are 17-7 overall and 12-3 at home, while the Lakers are 3-8 on the road, which doesn't give the visitors the feel of a favorite that they usually bring to Philadelphia.

And despite the emergence of first-time all-star center Andrew Bynum (17 ppg., 12 rpg.), it's safe to say that Iguodala holds the key to the game with his defense against Bryant.

"They always have a chance to win when he's on the floor," Sixers guard Lou Williams said of Bryant and the Lakers. "But you have to give Dré a lot of credit. He has been battling these guys year in and year out and always does a great job on them."

Last season, the Lakers won both meetings: by 93-81 at the Wells Fargo Center, when since-departed Lamar Odom scored 28 points, and by 102-98 in Los Angeles, where Bryant exploded for 33 points.

The Sixers and Lakers did not practice Sunday after playing back-to-back games. The Lakers won, 93-89, on Friday in Denver before Saturday's loss in Utah. The Sixers followed Friday's 99-79 home loss to Miami with Saturday's victory over Atlanta.

The record suggests that the Lakers are a little down, but the excitement meter should be as high as it was Friday when LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and the Miami Heat beat the Sixers while attracting the biggest home crowd to date - 20,694.