Shawn Marion is a good defender, but Kobe Bryant wasn't about to give the Mavericks' defensive anchor any credit.

After the Lakers' shootaround, Bryant held court - pulling about 20 media members away from coach Mike Brown just as Brown was getting going with his interview scrum - and his best line came when he was asked about Marion and the Mavericks' touting Marion as a defensive player of the year candidate.

"Oh, man, I agree,'' Bryant said, sporting a grin. "I think tonight they should not double me at all or zone me. Just play one on one because he's such a terrific defender, he doesn't need any help.''

The sarcasm was dripping.

Bryant, by the way, said he was impressed with the Mavericks' run to the championship last season, but that people would be unwise to throw dirt on the Lakers this year. Their aura remains large, he said.

"It's tough to put a dent in mystique with all those banners,'' Bryant said. "That's tough to do. But they had a great year last year, they played extremely well. They kicked our butts, that's for darn sure. But we're going to be back at it. We're middle of the pack right now. But we have aspirations of being there again in June and seeing this team in the playoffs.''

Can the Lakers win the title again as currently constituted?

"Yeah, we can, but we got to be damn near perfect,'' he said. "But we can. You see it in other sports where it happens when teams seem to come out of nowhere, but that's because everybody's playing well at the right time and guys understand their assignments and roles. It can happen.''

One thing Bryant wouldn't do is disrespect fellow superstar Dirk Nowitzki. Bryant said his opinion of the Mavericks' face of the franchise has not changed.

"I always knew he was cold,'' Bryant said. "I never understood people who thought otherwise. I thought maybe they just don't have the proper knowledge of the game. Anybody who can watch Dirk play and not understand what his value is or how good he is I believe doesn't belong in a reasonable basketball conversation.''