NBA Conference Finals are Great (But...)

And it's not just the young inexperienced players. It's the veterans, it's the coaches, both panicked (although, Stan Van does deserve a little credit for this 2-1 lead he's mustered up) and future Hall-of-Famer. And it's not just one or two per team. It's multiple each game. And it's quite unbelievable.

While I am not here to list every single mental lapse as there have been many, I will only point out a few.

Mental Lapse 1 - Tied at 99 with 30 seconds left, Kenyon Martin throws a hip at Kobe Bryant sending him to the line. Kobe makes both free throws.

Mental Lapse 2 - After a timeout after those very free throws, Karl sends Anthony Carter to take the ball out over an extended Lamar Odom. Carter lobs the ball only to have it stolen by Trevor Ariza. (Note: Gametape would only suggest that Lamar Odom defends all inbounds plays out of timeouts.)

Mental Lapse 2b - Even with Carter not being able to clearly see, he failed to call a timeout, resulting in what could be one of the biggest turnovers of his career.

Eastern Conference - Game 1 @ Cleveland

Mental Lapse 1 - Cleveland only has one offensive play/set, and Orlando knew it. Cleveland fans knew it. And everybody on television clearly knew it. But head coach Mike Brown stayed creative, and still put the ball in Lebron's hands as the rest of the team stood and watched.

Mental Lapse 2 - Lebron drives to the lane on the last play of the game. Having been getting (arguably) favored by the refs all game, he fails to to go the hole, and dishes it off to Delonte West.

WCF - Game 2 @ Los Angeles

Mental Lapse 1 - Lakers have a high energy first quarter jumping out to a 14 point lead only to see it evaporated by halftime.

Mental Lapse 2 - In the midst of a second-half collapse, Sasha Vujajic is upset that he isn't getting enough touches through the offense and snaps at reserve guards Shannon Brown and Jordan Farmar. He then proceeds to shoot the ball everytime he touches it to spite both Brown and Farmar.

Mental Lapse 3 - As the fourth quarter starts, being accustomed to having Kobe start the quarter on the bench, we saw Jackson refuse to sit him in Game 1 to ensure a win. This time around, Jackson opts to sit Kobe as the Lakers have a 1 point lead. 99 Seconds later, the 1 point lead has become a 5 point deficit as Kobe returns. After a 1 and a half minute rest.

Mental Lapse 4 - While this is debatable, many people still wonder if the ball should have gone to Kobe regardless of the tough defense instead of Derek Fisher. But Kobe and Fisher both, defended Phil Jackson's decision to go with Fish.

ECF - Game 2 @ Cleveland

Mental Lapse 1 - Cleveland is up 20 points and lose the lead at home in the second half. This same near flawless Cleveland home team?

Mental Lapse 2 - Cleveland is still using the same offensive/set, where its just letting Lebron do whatever he likes.

Mental Lapse 3 - Knowing the ball is going to Lebron with just 1 second left to go, Lebron gets the ball easily and launches a slightly contested 3, only to win the game thus enabling us to see the replay an estimated two hundred and twenty nine times a day. That wasn't very magical.

Mental Lapse 4 - Stan Van Gundy takes blame for last play. Can't you just take the defeat and move on?

WCF - Game 3 @ Denver

Mental Lapse 1 - J.R. Smith hits a huge 3 at the buzzer to end the third quarter, only to taunt Sasha Vujajic, giving him a technical to start the quarter. It only triggered the Lakers to get going.

Mental Lapse 2 - With the game nearing its end, and the Lakers up two, Kobe is trapped in the corner. All one has to do is stand there and let him earn protecting the ball. K-Mart obliges and throws another hip at him.

Mental Lapse 3 - The Lakers missed 14 free throws. FOURTEEN!

Mental Lapse 4 - Knowing what happened in Game 2, Karl goes with K-Mart to pass the ball in this time over Lamar Odom. Off the pass, Trevor Ariza once again pokes the ball away.

Mental Lapse 5 - Guarded by Ariza, Carmelo Anthony upset at the steal grabs Ariza before Ariza can recover the steal. Completely forgetting that he already had 5 fouls, Melo is in disbelief that he has fouled out, and sulkily walks towards the Denver bench on the verge of tears.

ECF - Game 3 @ Orlando

Mental Lapse 1 - The Cavs continue the same one play since game 1. It's slower and slower getting more predictable and easier to stop.

Mental Lapse 2 - Lebron goes 11/28 making only 1-2 jumpshots the whole game, but proceeds to attempt to shoot his way out of it, rather than going to the hole every single time.

All of a sudden, six games and many lapses later, we're at two spectacular series with teams up 2-1, in all close games, only being won due to ridiculous mental lapses on everybody's part.

They say that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Each game, each play...you have to make it easier and be safer with everything you do. A good example would be Courtney Lee in Game 3 last night. In the first quarter, Lee has a break away lay-up only to be "chased down" by Lebron and rejected violently. In third quarter, in the same experience, Lee recognizes Lebron's shadow coming behind him, and chooses to go to the hole with authority only to dunk it and nearly make Lebron a poster. He knew he had to go a step further to get the job done. A bad example is Zyrunas Ilgauskus still looking for open threes in the corner. If James can't buy a bucket from the outside, why is Z?

There's many more cases we can point out, but these are some of the most notable ones, that are nearly mind-boggling. While it seems that the refs aim to favor teams with momentum on their side, some upset fans may point at a call or a non-call by a ref and that's because their team lost the game. But when a game comes down to the wire, that last play isn't the only defining moment. These mental lapses, whether it's stupid turnovers or brick after brick from the free throw line, are the reason for each team's heartbreaking losses thus far in the series.

All I can hope for is more inspiring basketball, and less mindlessness.

Maybe they're just warming up.