Fran Blinebury makes excuses for Kobe Bryant and the Lakers: Monday night, Bryant attempted a re-creation of one of Air Jordan's greatest hits -- jumping up off his sickbed to work playoff magic.

Jordan took the floor against Utah in the 1997 NBA Finals with a high fever and still took down the Jazz.

Bryant dragged himself into Arco Arena to face the Kings after spending the day suffering from food poisoning. He took intravenous fluids throughout the day.

Where the Kings had failed in the opening game of the Western Conference finals, a bacon cheeseburger succeeded in slowing down Kobe.