Kobe Bean and Fatal Inbounds Pass #2

Leading with the West...

• Kobe Bryant decided he wasn't letting the Lakers lose (not coincidentally the night after Lebron made alllll the news...hmm)...dropping 41 including  a gigantic 3 in JR Smith's mug late and ending things at the line....but the play of the game IMO (other than that Bryant 3) was ANOTHER failed inbounds pass... This time it wasn't a coaching mishap, but rather a misjudgment by a veteran (K-Mart)....but at the same time I think these little things separate great coaches from mediocre ones...for instance...Phil Jackson has put Lamar Odom on the ball with every intention of actually being ON TOP of the inbounder to put that extra impetus behind the play...both times (a small sample I know) this play has frustrated the passer...whereas Stan Van Gundy went with Lewis on a preventive basis (not in the face of the inbounder) last night instead of either pressuring the ball or completely taking him away and doubling Lebron (either of which would've been better)...Just an observation.... For Denver? Carmelo utterly disappeared late in this one...culminating in his late foul-out... but I have to say The Birdman was EVERYwhere...very impressed.... 2 interesting subplots to close.... 1) JR Smith took 10 threes in that game...that's unacceptable when you are only hitting 2 of them and aren't your teams 1st or 2nd option...I know he has no regard...but I'm gonna need him to reign that in (4-15 FG too)....and 2) Andrew Bynum hasn't played over 20 minutes in the series and has become a complete non-factor....congratulations to the Lakers for having his extension START next year at 12.5 million a year when he is already feuding with Phil over playing time AND getting glared at by Kobe for lack of effort...I just want everyone to keep the fact that he's a no-show in mind when factoring that this team is still the favorite with him underperforming/not playing
• A tampering investigation of the Redskins is underway over the early signing of Albert Haynesworth...there had been an underground swell of this ever since the signing...I'm interested to see what kind of stamp Roger Goodell puts on this one compared to what he did to the Pats over Spygate...
• MLB Roundup: The Braves are hot...and the Jays have suddenly hit the wall...needless to say I'm fine with this... 1 good sign and 1 bad sign for the Red Sox.... Josh Beckett was dominant (8 IP, 0 ER) but the invincible Papelbon imploded in the 9th and blew the save to the Mets... Possibly the best slugger you NEVER hear about? Joey Votto of Cincy...who blasted 2 HR's today and is hitting .371 with 7 HR despite missing 10 games with an inner ear problem....Watching Derek Jeter play defense now makes cringe a little bit...he has the fluidity of Edgar Renteria (not a good thing) and has lost the ability to make the "wow" plays he used to...not a good combo for Yankees fans....

Realllyyyy looking forward to tonight's Game 3 in Orlando... I think Cleveland takes the homecourt advantage back, and Orlando could easily be out of this series quickly depending on how they respond to getting their hearts ripped out....Keep in mind SVG nearly cried in his post-game presser...