L.A. Lakers: Why Kobe Bryant and the Lakers Are Like Bruce Banner and the Hulk

I used to love watching episodes of The Incredible Hulk in the '80s because the show brought the comic books of my childhood to life.

Sure, the production was cheesy and it is a stretch to picture Bill Bixby turning into a green Lou Ferigno, but the series may have captured the vision of creator Stan Lee better than either of the two major motion pictures made in its wake.

The most memorable part of the show is when Bixby, as Dr. Bruce Banner, is pushed to anger, and as his eyes begin to glow bright green, he utters these words: "Don't make me angry. You won't like me when I'm angry."

At this point, the cameras usually go fuzzy as you watch the transformation of Banner into the Hulk, but there is always a visible moment to let you know a change is coming.

Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant didn't turn green against the Utah Jazz on Friday night, but the Lakers proved that making them angry is a very dangerous proposition.

The Jazz opened up a 17-point lead in the first half of Friday's contest, and it seemed that the Lakers' emotional victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night may have left them drained.

Utah played the Lakers extremely tough despite being short-handed and Jazz forward Paul Milsap was more than holding his own in the paint against Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum.

But in the second quarter, reality began to set in for the Jazz, as Bryant and the Lakers' length eventually wore the smaller Jazz players down and the Lakers whittled Utah's lead down to six points at halftime.

As the Lakers began to seize control early in the third quarter, the game took on a more physical tone, and the Utah players, who were clearly frustrated, began to vent those frustrations by delivering hard fouls.

You would think the Jazz might have caught a few minutes of the Lakers' win over the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night.

Desper...

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