Avery trying to butter up Bryant prior to the Lakers playing the Nets this afternoon? Slick, coach. Very slick. From the NY Daily News: “Avery Johnson sees Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan as neck-and-neck when it comes to greatness. ‘[Bryant] could arguably be 1. In some polls, he’ll be 2,’ the Nets coach said yesterday about the players he has seen since he entered the league in 1988. ‘He could be 1-A and Jordan can be 1-B or Jordan, some polls they’ll be flipped. Fortunately I had a chance to play against both of them and now played and coached against Kobe. And boy, sometimes they’re looking like the same player.'”