Lakers vs. Clippers: Kobe Bryant Won't Relinquish the Throne to Blake Griffin

The 2011-12 season started out a little bit different than most typical NBA campaigns.

Especially in Los Angeles, where the talk of the town wasn't Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers, but Blake Griffin and the Los Angles Clippers.

Lob City was hot and the Lakers seemed like nothing more than a dysfunctional family looking to make one final run. Things changed in the middle of the season as the Lakers started looking more and more like a contending basketball team, while the Clippers struggled after the season-ending injury to Chauncey Billups.

However, the past two weeks have been a different story altogether. The Clippers enter tonight's game against the Lakers riding a six-game win streak, while the Lakers have resembled a network soap opera much more than they have resembled championship contenders.

While the Clippers have pulled within 1.5 games of the Lakers for the Pacific Division lead, Kobe Bryant will still have something to say down the stretch about who will be the best team in Los Angeles heading into the postseason.

Despite the immaturity and distractions of Andrew Bynum, Bryant won't allow Griffin and Chris Paul to upstage the Lakers for superiority in the city of Los Angeles, especially at this point in the season when Bryant is usually at his best.

If he has to carry the Lakers—which he shouldn't—this is the time of year that his shoulders get wider. His teammates can ride his hot streak down the stretch.

It's no secret that he's had some shooting struggles as of late, but if his last two performances are any indication, the Lakers should be confident.

Bryant, after a horrible day from the field against New Orleans on Saturday, rebounded by scoring a combined 64 points in a pair of Lakers victories. The impressive part, though, is that Kobe combined to go 26-of-44 (.591) from the field in both wins.

The Clippers are the hotter team coming into tonight's showdown, but if Bryant stays on a roll, the Lakers have the advantage.

When it's all said and done, Los Angeles will still remain Bryant's city. He won't allow anyone else to claim it anytime soon.