May 28th: "After battle with Kobe, Bell toils in obscurity no more"

[Phil]

After battle with Kobe, Bell toils in obscurity no more
By Sam Alipour
Special to ESPN.com

Who knew Raja Bell would be the pivotal player of the 2006 playoffs?

Who knew the player most likely to get death threats would be a guy most fans couldn't pick out of a program?

A year ago, he was the fifth-leading scorer on a Utah Jazz team that won just 26 games.

Now he's the guy responsible for The Shot, The Clothesline and The Calf that continue to shape the most exciting NBA playoffs in memory.

For the Phoenix Suns, he's the tough guy who shadowed and harassed Kobe Bryant of the L.A. Lakers in one series, the sharpshooter who deflated the L.A. Clippers' dream season with a 3 from the corner and the player whose calf injury in Game 1 has altered the West finals vs. the Dallas Mavericks.

Saturday, an MRI confirmed that Bell suffered a partial tear in his left calf. That injury will keep him out of Game 3 on Sunday and perhaps future games.

"That's a little disappointing to hear," Bell told reporters Saturday. "It wasn't as [improved] as I wanted to see today. That's just the nature of the injury."