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Kobe Bryant doesn't trust his teammates and the Denver Nuggets are a bunch of out-of-control hotheads.

I know, that's so untrue. It's the crude yesteryear version of this story, right? We have moved on. Articles have been written about how much everyone has learned from their past mistakes, grown up and matured. Both parties have enjoyed a lot of success.

But watching these two teams over the course of this series, doesn't it feel like both issues are still alive and well?

Flying Solo: Kobe Bryant
Kobe Bryant checked into the game with 6:43 left in the fourth quarter, with the Lakers trailing by eleven. He then proceeded to miss a 3-pointer and spot-up jumper, make a pair of two-point jumpers and a long 3, and then finished up by missing six times while getting fouled twice.

My question, inspired by an e-mail from TrueHoop reader Terrence, is a real one: Did Kobe Bryant make a single pass after checking in with 6:43 left? I can't find evidence he did. (UPDATE: Jeremy from Roundball Mining Company e-mails: "With 2:52 remaining ... he rose up to shoot on Chauncey only to realize he had no room to get the shot off and he fired a pass towards Gasol that was tipped out of bounds.")

When other Lakers touched the ball in what could have been a critical stretch, they went solo, too. Shannon Brown, Jordan Farmar ... just about nobody seemed to be using the triangle to find the open man. 

Meanwhile, Bryant looked absolutely gassed. A sub-plot of this series has to be his health. Is he OK? On some of the possessions where he didn't shoot, it was because the Lakers were in attack mode before Bryant even made it across half court. He was also very slow getting back on defense once or twice, including on the play when the Nuggets played five on four and J.R. Smith hit the game-sealing wide-open 3. 

That says something to me: Bryant is too exhausted to jog the length of the floor, but still believes a solo offensive attack is a far better option than a team approach? For what it's worth, Andrew Bynum only missed one of his seven shots last night, and Pau Gasol made all but three of his 11.

The Nuggets vs. Self-Discipline
Last night made clear what had been suggested in earlier games. Playing anything like their best, the Nuggets are better than the Lakers.

They are very skilled. They have the magical influence of Chauncey Billups, and the scary scoring punch of Carmelo Anthony. But the main thing on display last night was that they are just so much more active and athletic. If both teams play to their potential, the Nuggets have the advantage.

But it's even money whether or not they'll defeat themselves as the pressure ramps up. Already they have lost two games in this series to inbounding turnovers.

Like another Mark Warkentien team -- the 2000 Portland Trail Blazers (now starring as Scottie Pippen: Chauncey Billups!) -- the Nuggets are pure fire and more than capable of consuming themselves. Here's a crude attempt (in consultation with Coleman Collins) to rank the players in this series in terms of current athletic explosiveness:

1. J.R. Smith
2. Kenyon Martin
3. Trevor Ariza
4. Chris Andersen
5. Jordan Farmar
6. Nene
7. Kobe Bryant
8. Shannon Brown
   
9. Dahntay Jones
10. Carmelo Anthony

On the other hand, a list of players most likely to do something self-defeating in a key moment is even more dominated by Nuggets.

The poise of a champion? Maybe, maybe not. (Garrett W. Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images)

Chauncey Billups had to yell at Dahntay Jones to get back on defense after his excessive post-dunk mugging. Kenyon Martin (fresh off standing before TV cameras and calling an NBA owner just about the most aggressively homophobic thing imaginable) somewhat marred a great win last night with an unconvincing and overly aggressive bit of pretending he was tangled up with Pau Gasol.

Dahntay Jones made the most blatantly violent play of the night -- sending Bryant sprawling with a kick -- but it wasn't nearly as dangerous as his Game 3 shove to the back of an airborne Bryant. Chris Andersen is a super athlete, plays short minutes and is known for defense, but even he lacks the focus to get back quickly on defense every time.

When the TV broadcast lets us listen in to what George Karl has to say, the message is always excessively basic, along the lines of "play hard!" There is not much fine-tuning to be done with a flame-thrower -- it's not a precision instrument.

Can the Nuggets win this series? Absolutely. Will they? Who knows? That's entirely in their hands, and their hands can break things.