Payback sure is a b!*#* When spoiler Sacramento was up 71-60 over the Lakers at halftime, I turned off the television. I knew right away the purple-and-gold did not come ready to play.

The Lakers were scoreboard watching. They saw that San Antonio had lost  to Phoenix earlier in the day and they relaxed.  Above all, they thought the Kings would fold flat like a lawnchair and instead it was Los Angeles who folded. Just like a lost poker hand.

The symptoms of the old Los Angeles Lakers began to show up in the third quarter. The old tentative Kobe was on display tonight and it was not pretty.

And believe me, I know exactly what Kobe Bryant was thinking and his play tonight sure wasn't indicative of how an MVP player should perform and lead his team to victory.

He scored 20 points in the first half as he attacked aggresively through the Kings defense yet his team was down big. So what did Pinkie Bryant do? He deferred to his teammates in the second half and it hurt the team immensely. I'm pretty darn sure that's what was going through his mind in the locker room at halftime. He felt he needed to stop shooting so much and get his teammates involved and he paid a huge price. He let his team down.

His serious lack of aggressiveness on both sides of the ball led him to become cold in the fourth quarter and because he stopped shooting he didn't have that same killer instinct that we have grown to become accustomed to all season. In the last three minutes of the game Bryant missed an easy driving layup and missed a critical free throw, which consequently decided the outcome of the game.

And the last shot of the game in which he was falling away 22 feet from the basket? That was a result of Bryant's poor judgment and court vision. With 4.6 seconds left, he got the ball at the top of the key, drove to the right, directly into a double-team with Mikki Moore waiting on the wing. Bryant chucked it with the 6-11 Moore flying right at him causing him to fade away from the target and his shot fell short.

Wanna know what Lebron James would have done? The King would have driven left away from the double team and James would have either dunked the ball or gotten to the foul line. James said it himself recently that when time is running out, it almost seems as if everything is in slow motion and he takes his time and looks for the best way to score or find an easier shot for his teammates. That's the mentality of an MVP-type player.

Not to say that Kobe doesn't have it because he does. In fact, Kobe is a better closer and defender than Lebron. But Bryant still has a lot of growing up to do because sometimes he gets away from what he really needs to do, much like James on occasion. The point is that we still aren't able to expect Kobe and Lebron to lead their respective teams on a nightly basis the same way Michael Jordan did for his Bulls time and time again. Michael was an immense threat every single minute on the floor, much to the dismay of his opponents and that in itself broke his adversaries down mentally before they even stepped on the court with him. The psychological advantage that Jordan had over his oppponents is what separated him from the rest of the league. Teams knew when Jordan had that 'look' in his eyes, it was all over. Magic had the same quality. So did Larry Legend and Isiah Thomas. They did whatever it took to win a game. And accomplished it with intelligence and court savvy, not just on sheer talent and will. The legends of the game knew how to mend it all together to form the most complete basketball weapon. Kobe is on his way, but he isn't there yet.

Bryant the MVP? Maybe that's the popular vote but I am not that impressed yet, especially after tonight's contest. This was one Bryant surely would want to take back 10 times out of 10.

Instead of deferring his offense, what Kobe should have done was increase his intensity on defense to set the tone for the rest of his team. Because in the second half, the Lakers defense did not improve any better than the first half. They led 113-112 with about 15 seconds left and after the Kings called a timeout to set up a play, Beno Udrih and Brad Miller broke down the Lakers mediocre defense with a simple back screen cut that got Derek Fisher lost and caused a foul by Sasha Vujacic.

Every time the Lakers made a mini run in the third and fourth quarters, the Kings would come right back and run their predictable pick-n-pop with Brad Miller, who'd easily find a cutter or two leading to layups and dunks by guys like Udrih, Moore, and Francisco Garcia. The Lakers played so poor defensively that it overshadowd another excellent effort by Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom.

Now if I'm the MVP of planet earth, I would have guarded the Kings' best playmaker and Kobe was nowhere to be found near Udrih in the Lakers' final defensive stand. Where were you Mamba? Where was that leader in you we all thought you had become?

Now I'm sure this is just a temporary setback and the Lakers will once again be true to form in their upcoming games, but this loss will be tough to sw@llow for Lakers fans simply because there is absolutely no reason why L.A. should have given this game away. And it was the way they lost that is so discouraging. At least the Spurs lost to the Suns playing their style of ball. There was nothing positive whatsoever that the Lakers could have taken from this game.

But this is all part of the growing process for Bryant and I'm sure that after he watches the tape, he will realize how he was solely responsible for losing this one for the team. Magic Johnson and Larry Bird never would have let this happen. And we all know how Michael Jordan would have never allowed his teammates to relax one bit. Not at home in front of a raucous crowd. Not with first place in the west and home court advantage on the line.

Kobe has been a vocal leader all year long but throughout tonight's game his lips were as sealed as a cd case straight out of the factory.

If the Lakers want to stake their claim as the best team in the league bar none, Kobe has to play with a sense of urgency. It starts with Bryant because ultimately his teammates will follow his lead. They tried to do that tonight but unfortunately, Bryant wasn't there to lead. For once, he became a follower.

It's time for Phil Jackson to use the force and work his zen magic on his young padawan because by the looks of their recent performances, I'm beginning to think maybe Pinkie Bryant and the Young Guns haven't meditated in a while.