"Earlier, Bryant was looking forward to a physical game and was eager to see how the Lakers would respond to playing "smashmouth" basketball against Eastern Conference squads like Cleveland and Boston.

Afterward, he wasn't so sure the Lakers are rough enough.

"The mentality has to change a little bit playing against these teams," Bryant said. "These teams are physical, tough-minded, hard-nosed types of teams. That's not part of our DNA. We have to step up and match that and still play skillful basketball.""