But it was a challenge that the Utah Jazz were able to get through, mainly because they ran defenders at him in droves and watched as he tired down the stretch of nearly every game in this series.

Now that Utah, with Friday's 113-91 series clinching win, has rid itself of McGrady and the Houston Rockets, the task changes from difficult to almost impossible.

That would be the task of stopping Kobe Bryant.

In Bryant, the NBA's newly crowned most valuable player, the Los Angeles Lakers have a player that many consider the best on the planet.

In Bryant, the Lakers have a player that can take over games with his scoring, his passing and his defense, which is something that McGrady can't do. In Bryant, the Jazz have the task of containing a player that's nearly uncontainable. And one that won't let Utah off the hook by slowing down in the fourth quarter.

"He's more aggressive than McGrady," said Ronnie Brewer, the Jazz guard and the player who will start off on Bryant in most games. "He's not going to settle for jump shots. He's going to go to the basket and put the onus on officials to call fouls. He puts a lot of pressure on teams because he can get to the basket and he can finish at the rim with either his left or his right hand."

As with McGrady, Utah will defend Bryant with a multitude of players. Brewer will start on him, but at various points, Bryant could see Matt Harpring, Kyle Korver, Andrei Kirilenko or maybe even Deron Williams.

The bigger problem is the fact that the Lakers are deeper than the Rockets could ever hope to be. While McGrady came into games knowing that the scoring load was going to be his and his alone, Bryant has Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, and former Jazzman Derek Fisher as players who on any night can go for 20 by themselves. And Gasol, at this point in his career, is an all-star in game if not by name. He's going to be a problem all by himself.

"Kobe and T-Mac are pretty similar players," Kirilenko said. "They both lead their teams and they are both great players. Kobe has a lot of players that he can pass the ball to, so we have to play very good defense as a team."

tjones@sltrib.com