What else do you expect Kobe to say? He is Kobe Bryant, he probably thinks the Lakers can win the NBA Finals as well. If only some of his teammates had the same type of fire to win, the Lakers might not be in the situation they are in now.
It doesn’t appear they are going to trade Dwight Howard, so the team, as it is currently constructed is going to need to take make a run.
Here is what Kobe had to say to SI.com
It’s not a question of if we make the playoffs. We will. And when we get there, I have no fear of anyone — Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Denver … whoever. I have zero nervousness about that.
But I’m not talking about just me. Us as a group. We will make the playoffs. And we will compete. And part of the reason I have that confidence is the Miami game [a 107-97 loss in Miami on Feb. 10]. We had control of the game. That was no fluke. We were playing very, very well. We were reading the defense, making the extra pass. OK, they have two great players [LeBron James and Dwayne Wade] who scored eight straight buckets and took control of the game. But we were right there. We can do it.