Got love for new Los Angeles Lakers savior Kobe Bryant?

Okay okay... Kobe Bryant is not someone new to the Los Angeles Lakers anymore.

However, with the new style of play this man has these days, it looks like the Los Angeles Lakers may have found something new within something these guys once regarded as a problem child. Oh yeah... The guy has this new no.24 jersey too, replacing the now old and familiar no.8.

From his problems with ex-Laker, Shaquille O'Neal, from his brush with rape charges, from being labeled by Phil Jackson as ''uncoachable,'' and from allegations of being a ball hog, this new Kobe Bryant, all of a sudden, grew up.

Kobe these days doesn't force anything anymore. He doesn't have that lust to score 40 or 50 any given night. And yep, the Los Angeles Lakers are finally playing some good basketball again. Imagine if Kobe Bryant grew up just a bit earlier when Shaq was still around.

Scary.

Is the no.24 Kobe better than the no.8 Kobe who already won three NBA Championships? Is the no.24 Kobe more efficient than the no.8 Kobe who scored the second greatest scoring performance in NBA history with 81 points?

Nike apparently has no doubts, the newest commercial appearing over the weekend featuring Kobe and several other NBA stars dressed in white and marching forward atop the headline, ''The Second Coming.''

I don't know what mah' man Rasheed Wallace is doing there though. I got love for the guy but we have to face it, SHEED is not as dominant as he was before in Portland. But hey, as long as the intricate business of marketing still loves the 6'10'' troublemaker, everything's good baby.

Can Kobe Bryant lead the Los Angeles Lakers to the NBA Playoffs? Who will win the 2007 NBA Championship? Here are some odds from Bodog:

Chicago Bulls 7/1

Detroit Pistons 9/1

Dallas Mavericks 7/2

Miami Heat 4/1 (boo!)

Want more odds? Visit OddsHQ for more NBA Basketball Odds and the best betting lines on some of today's biggest sporting events.