LOS ANGELES — The most valuable player in the Los Angeles Lakers' 112-108 overtime victory over the Dallas Mavericks dressed impeccably in a dark suit and sat in a booster seat on the bench. (So that's what became of Phil Jackson's throne.)
That would be Kobe Bryant.
"That's Coach Bryant now," Ramon Sessions corrected.
Bryant did not take over the game like he did on the court. He was not seen ripping the clipboard from Mike Brown's hands and scribbling away during a timeout. But he did engage the Lakers coach, pointing and gesticulating about what was playing out. And — no surprise here — Bryant was not demure about telling the Lakers why they should be here or pointing out that they should have been there.
"He's more talkative as a coach," said Matt Barnes, which is saying a mouthful.
But Bryant's greatest value over the past five games has not been his presence. It has been his absence.
While Bryant has sat out, giving his injured shin time to heal, the Lakers have not run off the rails. Rather, they have run off four consecutive victories, including wins over the defending champion Mavericks, the formidable Spurs and the perhaps playoff-bound Nuggets.
Instead of falling apart, they have solidified their hold on the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference over the surging Clippers, whom they lead by 1 1/2 games and hold the tiebreaker against.
Bryant's singular talents and his single-minded personality can carry a team and suck the air out of one. His absence has caused a vacuum, which has necessitated the Lakers learn about themselves — how to trust one another, how to shoulder responsibility and how to survive, even thrive, by attending to details.
In other words: how to play like a team.
"There are a lot of things we have to do as a team, but sometimes we just throw the ball to Kobe and say bail us out," Brown said. "Now, we can't always do that. We have to rely on each other a little more at times because we don't have Kobe's presence out on the floor."
On Sunday afternoon, that meant the ball going into Andrew Bynum repeatedly. He took 24 shots and at both ends of the court was "a monster," Brown said. It meant Metta World Peace playing with a confidence — he is averaging 18 points over the past six games — that is now shared by the home crowd, which no longer gasps when he shoots. It meant Pau Gasol hitting a pair of 3-pointers in overtime. It meant the ball staying often enough in the hands of Ramon Sessions, who had 22 points and five assists.
It meant Barnes, who otherwise would not have been on the court, delivering huge defensive stops on Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry in overtime. That along with 11 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists.
Now, of course, the Lakers won't be winning a title without Bryant, who said during an in-game interview on national TV that he would be back before the playoffs began. But the truth is that, as in the days with Shaquille O'Neal, this is no longer Bryant's team.
Though Bryant has taken by far the most shots in the NBA, 130 more than Kevin Durant, the Lakers function best when everything operates around Bynum. The Lakers center, who had 23 points and 16 rebounds against Dallas, has become such a dominant force that there may even be a debate about whether Dwight Howard is the best big man in the game.
"The main thing is tempo; I don't know how many times I can say that," said World Peace, whose assessment was echoed by Brown. "Tempo is about 'Drew. That's where it starts. When Kobe comes back it starts with Kobe also, but it's really 'Drew. We have to play at 'Drew's tempo and take advantage when we can take advantage.
"When 'Drew's running, then we can run. Obviously, he's not a track star, so we have to understand if he's running and he might need a breather, we've got to slow it up for him. When we play at 'Drew and Pau's tempo, we're tough to beat."
You wonder if this is dawning on Bryant as he sits and observes. As cerebral a player as Bryant is, he knows the Lakers are best when they share the ball and move it on offense. But there are always times when he can't seem to help himself, when he is unable to temper his urge to take over games — sometimes for weeks at a time.
"He's just so aggressive," Gasol said of Bryant. "He wants and demands that post and demands the ball. He's one of the best players in the world and he's done that for many, many years and he will continue to do that.
"We just have to figure out how to get some other people going and active because that also translates to the defensive end. Usually our better games are when the ball doesn't get stuck on the strong side of the floor and we go back and forth and everybody touches it and the open guy shoots it. It's a fact."
If this is something that Bryant does take to heart, the Lakers, now that they have a major upgrade at point guard — Sessions for Derek Fisher — appear fully capable of coming out of the Western Conference. And while Bryant's stint on the bench has allowed his teammates to build their own confidence, it has also allowed his legs to rest.
"This is a blessing in disguise for him to rest, heal up," World Peace said.
Perhaps it was that thought that crossed the mind of Dallas coach Rick Carlisle, whose team would be playing the Lakers in the first round of the playoffs if they began today. The Mavericks swept the Lakers in the Western Conference semifinals a year ago, but Jason Kidd's health is fragile, they appear to badly miss the defensive presence of DeShawn Stevenson and Tyson Chandler, and the Lakers have won all four meetings this season.
Asked if it was dispiriting to lose to the Lakers without Bryant, Carlisle paused and frowned.
"Next question," he said.
If only dismissing a rested, healthy Bryant and a group of fully-functioning Lakers were that easy.
