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The days of trade demands must seem like centuries ago to Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers who now find themselves one series away from advancing to the NBA Finals for the first time since Shaquille O'Neal skipped town in 2004. In order for the rejuvenated Showtime to make it to the Promised Land, however, they will have to get by defending champs the San Antonio Spurs, who are looking for their fifth title in 10 years.

The Spurs and Lakers have had a virtual stranglehold on the Western Conference for the past decade, with the two teams winning 7 of the last 10 titles and representing the West in the NBA Finals every year since 1998, with the exception of the Dallas Mavericks' storied meltdown in 2005.

This series will go a long way toward defining the narrative of these two teams, with L.A. having an opportunity to start a new culture of championship appearances and for Kobe to win his first without Shaq, while San Antonio tired to add a ring to its collective thumb and earn a place in the pantheon of the greatest teams of all time.

History will probably be the last thing on the minds of the Spurs, however, as they enter the game Wednesday night in Los Angeles on the heels of a physically and emotionally exhausting series against the plucky New Orleans Hornets. The Spurs couldn't even catch a break after winning that series, as they had to sleep on their grounded plane the night of the victory, before eventually stopping by their houses to pick up clothes and make the 1200-mile trip out to Los Angeles, where a hungry (if bandwagoning crowd), along with a Kobe Bryant looking to define his career, awaits.

The Spurs have been at the top of their game throughout the decade, while the Lakers have gone through very public and very trying growing pains, as management has felt with trying to appease Kobe while simultaneously shopping him the last couple of years. After the mid-season addition of Pau Gasol, things finally seemed to be falling into place for the Lakers. Whether they would be in the same position if Grizzlies' GM Chris Wallace had not packaged Gasol with a bow is another question for another day. The fact of the matter is now that Bryant is happy, he's getting the support he needs from his teammates, and he is still able to take over any game against any team on any given night.

Although the Spurs may be tired, and a little older than the Lakers, they are looking to do something they have not done in their dominance of the last 10 years, win back-to-back championships, a feat that seems to be a prerequisite to be considered as one of the great teams. As he has since the 2002 season, Duncan has Manu Ginobli and Tony Parker riding shotgun, as he continues to defy father time and rebound from nagging injuries. This veritable United Nations of the NBA has been counted out time and again over the last couple of years, but they continue to prove that they can not be counted out until the final buzzer sounds.

Filling the Ginobli and Parker roles for Bryant this year are Gasol and Lamar Odom, a player who left college with comparisons to Ervin Johnson. Along with new addition Derek Fisher, Gasol and Odom have helped solidify the Lakers starting five, while the bench, which includes Luke Walton, Sasha Vujacic, Ronny Turiaf and Jordan Farmar has proven to be very able back-ups who can provide scoring, rebounding and tenacious defense. 

The Spurs suffer a bit more of a drop-off when it comes to bench play, and that may be the deciding factor. Michael Finley, Fabricio Oberto, Robert Horry and Kurt Thomas for the Spurs have had trouble providing offense, leading to some blowout losses against the Hornets. If the Lakers can handle the ball well when Bryant is off the court and limit their turnovers to minimize fastbreak points, the Spurs are going to have a difficult time scoring enough to win. Granted, Parker, Ginobli or Duncan always step up at some point in every series over the past few years (and Parker should be salivating at the prospect of taking Fisher off the dribble after being matched up with Chris Paul the last seven games), but against a deep (and hungry) Lakers team, two of them will have to have great games every single night, and from an aging group of players fresh off of a seven-game series, that may be asking too much.

Expect Kobe Bryant to will himself and his teammates to victory, as he tried to redefine himself as a champion outside of the shared spotlight (shadow) of Shaq.