A little bit ... at least.

Ariza not only works in Los Angeles, he grew up there, attending Westchester High before suiting up for a quickie at UCLA.

Although Kobe is the biggest challenge to a Nuggets upset, it's Ariza who's a threat to steal — literally and figuratively — the series from Denver's clutches.

The thievery includes two late-game steals of Nuggets' in-bound passes that sealed Denver's doom in Games 2 and 3. We're not sure if it's anti-heroic, but Ariza also has contributed mightily on offense, riding his improved perimeter stroke to glory when Jones' inability to stick Bryant by himself leads to double-teams and open shots for other Lakers.

Trevor applied for anti-hero status with a really hard regular-season foul against the Portland Trail Blazers.

Charles Barkley

He does have the courage to say what others won't, but there's very little heroism involved with how the mouth of TNT's studio show conducts himself.

His noteworthy social efforts in Scottsdale resulted in a lengthy suspension that created a window of opportunity for a rising (and decent) analytical talent named Chris Webber.

But the runaway bluster and sometimes shaky observations are forgiven because Sir Charles has become a harsh filter for the often reality-free contributions of postseason studio interloper Reggie Miller.

When it comes to scheduling nightly talent, TNT should learn what Barkley's bathroom scale revealed years ago ... more shouldn't be confused with better.