Another star vs. coach conflict. This time, it's with the Lakers, so the magnitude is bigger. Kobe "Black Mamba" Bryant vs. Mike "Pringles" D'Antoni.

The Lakers were unexpectedly good this season without Kobe. They had a winning record (10-9) which is not good enough for a playoff spot (if it started now)in the West but good enough for third in the East. Considering their lineup of reserves and discards playing without Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash (for the most part), we might have to say that D'Antoni did a pretty good job.

Almost every Laker fan wanted D'Antoni's head on a silver platter after their disappointing season last year. With a starting line-up of Kobe, Nash, World Peace, Pau Gasol and Dwight Howard, anything less than a championship would be a disaster. And the disaster will be blamed on the coach.

On closer analysis, injuries did play a part in last year's fiasco, as that starting five only happened on six occasions.  Yet, D'Antoni has been chastised for mishandling Pau Gasol and his lack of interior defense despite having Dwight in the middle.

Kobe Bryant returned to the lineup and the Lakers suffered a loss. One of the telling signs was that D'Antoni was not exactly ecstatic for his return. In fact, D'Antoni disagreed with Kobe when asked about their 10-9 start.

Talking to ESPN during their shootaround before the game against the Phoenix Suns, D'Antoni was adamant:  "It's not like we were gangbusters before. I have to disagree with that. We were 6-2 in the last eight [games before Bryant's return] and I thought we played extremely well, winning three [in a row] on the road. ... So, that's not quite right. I'm really proud of what the guys did."

'Pringles' has had his disagreements with stars before. He worked extremely well with Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire while they were in Phoenix. Both players actually played their best basketball under him. Nash won two MVP awards and Stoudemire got a franchise player contract with the Knicks that he never quite lived up to.

But D'Antoni's offense revolves around speed, outside shooting and smooth game flow. Isolation specialists like Carmelo Anthony and now Kobe Bryant will always reveal the weaknesses of D'Antoni's system. He has been fired in New York for his failure to successfully coach Melo. It might happen again with the return of Kobe Bryant.