In no particular order, here are some observations, and musings, from last night’s Lakers-sponsored obliteration of Steve Nash and the Suns.

• Hopefully Doug Collins gets the coaching gig with the Sixers. Not because he is qualified for the role, but because I can’t go through another NBA postseason with somebody’s lips as vapor-locked to someone’s rearend like Collins’ were on Bryant last night.
• Speaking of Kobe, how on EARTH can Phil Jackson make off-hand remarks about Durant getting to the line and Nash carrying the ball when Kobe gets the most overt superstar treatment in the league. Forget the ghost foul calls: just seconds after Kobe was T’d up for mouthing off at an official, the man covering, Grant Hill, was given a technical foul for waving his hand at an official in a “Get out of here!” sort of way. I don’t know if Kobe deserved the technical, but Hill DEFINITELY did not, ESPECIALLY in the postseason. That was purely a reactionary make-up call to please Bryant.
• I’m a Kobe hater - not because I don’t like his game, just because his swagger irritates me (mainly because he backs it up with ridiculous game) - but I’ll be the first to admit that the dude was on like he’s never been on before last night. The buzzer beater at the end of the first quarter was just the beginning for him. If he stays hot, the Lakers will sweep the Suns - you can’t D up a guy with a fadeaway as devastating as Kobe’s.
• Will the Lamar Odom lovefest please end? Mr. Kardashian shows up for ONE game, and he’s got recently-fired (and rightfully so if he believes garbage like this) head coach Byron Scott saying on ESPN that Odom is one of the league’s best players? He’s got range and height and can handle the ball, but he’s apathetic 90 percent of the time he’s on the court, and he’s got no killer instinct. In my opinion, he’s one of the guys that plays for a paycheck. Let’s not proclaim him a deity for one 19-point, 19-rebound night. I could have ripped 19 and scored 19 the way Amare was playing defense last night.
• My man Amare did not deliver last night. At all. He rarely boxed out, refused to step up and be a disruption when a Laker would cut to the hoop, and wasn’t assertive enough on offense. Listen, if your jumper is working, I understand you leaning on it. But his athleticism trumps that of Gasol and Bynum - he should get in the paint and throw some dunks down with authority, if nothing else then to take the wind out of the Lakers’ sails sporadically.
• While Alvin Gentry utilized Robin Lopez effectively - in moderation, but not too tentatively considering it’s the Western Finals - he did little else good coaching-wise. Barbosa, who was on for a change, was given limited minutes, Channing Frye was left on the court WAY too long - let’s face it, he chokes under pressure - and Louis Amundson should never be on the court unless he is paired with Amare or Robin. Maybe I missed Stoudemire considering he was invisible on the defensive end all night, but for a period midway through the game, Louis was the Suns’ 5, and Frye the 4. Do you REALLY think you’re going to slow the Lakers attack with Amundson, who is well overrated - maybe he can perform against the Mavs, but not agains the Lake Show - and Frye as your two big men underneath?
• I still hate Amundson’s pony tail.
• Am I the only one who thought the only reason for Didier Mbenga’s entry into the game was to confuse Amare? With the goggles, the two looked identical, apart from Mbenga being a little beefier.
• Also couldn’t figure out why Phil chose to go to Sasha off the bench. Maybe the Zen Master knew the Lakers would run away in the 3rd quarter, but Vujacic belongs overseas or in the D-League. He’s clueless.
• If Josh Powell were on any other team, he’d be a legit enforcer with heavy minutes off the bench. Whenever he plays limited minutes for the Lakers, you notice his presence. Problem is he’s buried behind Gasol, Bynum and Odom.
• Shannon Brown is athletic. As the TNT broadcasters pointed out, why wouldn’t he do something like that in the dunk contest.
• This was the worst Steve Nash has played this season. He couldn’t get into a groove, dribbled too much - I know he often does, but last night was especially disruptive to the flow of the offense - and for some reason, was often oblivious to how wide open Lopez or Amare would be off the pick n’ roll. If there’s one thing the Lakers had trouble guarding last night, it was the PNR, and Nash needed to capitalize on it more often.
• Jason Richardson is the key for the Suns. If he gets going, they can win this series. If the Suns continue to play Keep the Ball Away from J-Rich, they’ve got no shot.
• However, the Suns could probably win with Goran Dragic playing big minutes if Ron Artest chooses to chuck the ball as much as he did in the second half. As Doug Collins noted over, and over, and over, and over again - as he often does with points - Artest had terrific shot selection in the first half.
• Derek Fisher is the perfect example of one of those guys that you HATE, until he’s on your team. His intangibles are superior, and while he got burned by Westbrook and Deron, he still makes decisions crucial to the Lakers winning games.
• Did I mention Kobe was unstoppable last night? Because Gentry must’ve mentioned the fact that there was nothing the Suns could do four times last night. Listen, the point of a defense is to slow a team. If they’re hitting 65 percent of their shots, one of the reasons is porous defense. It’s not as if the ball had magnetic ties to the hoop - get a hand in someone’s face, that’ll slow ‘em down.
• I’m thisclose to taking back my prediction of the Suns going to the Finals. I’ll give them one more game, and chalk this one up to a well-rested Kobe being the top-10 - and that’s being conservative - all-time player he is.

What’d I miss?