Room for two?(Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal, basketball players for Los Angeles Lakers.)

If the Lakers want to win a second straight title, they'll have to concede that Kobe is just as important as Shaq

It's a little click of the tongue and teeth, sort of like a jazz drummer tapping his cymbal, sort of like, "Pttt ...", and it's all Kobe Bryant needs to deal with things he would rather bypass.

Say, a question about problems between him and center Shaquille O'Neal, or problems between him and coach Phil Jackson. Questions like: Is he the best player in the NBA? Or: Has he reached Michael Jordan's level? Tired questions.

He offers a quick shrug of the shoulder and, "Pttt, man ..."

It's the first quarter of the Lakers' game against the Suns, and Bryant, who is 6-7, is being guarded by Tony Delk. Tony Delk, 6-2 Tony Delk?

Pttt. Bryant takes a pass, backs in, fakes right and hits a turnaround over Delk. Bryant is feeling good. By the final possession of the quarter, he has shot 3-for-6 and leads the team with 8 points. So when, with only seconds remaining in the period, Jackson calls for a play that would send the ball away from Bryant to Mike Penberthy or Rick Fox for an outside shot, Bryant scoffs.

Pttt. He gets the ball high on the wing and dribbles, trying to create on his own. Forget the play. But the ball is knocked away, out of bounds, off Bryant. Jackson pops off the bench.