I have been vehemently defending Coach D ... right up until he made the myopic comment that, "I'm not here to develop a bench, I'm here to win a championship."

That was the beginning of the end for me.  The end of the end came when he sat Steve Nash for the first five minutes of the fourth period and pulled LB when LB was the only guy hitting shots.  Why is Bell on the floor for so long?  He's a good hustle guy (although, when was the last time he found a loose ball) and a good defender (even if his best defensive days are behind him) but he had one good shooter year and Coach keeps running him off staggering screens for jumpers like he's Rip Hamilton or Reggie Miller.

I'm not trying to pick on Bell.  My point is simply that the wrong moves are being made.

Yesterday, when I previewed the game, I argued that he simply needed to be a little more open-minded .

Today, I've come to the conclustion that it's clear that he refuses to think.

I'm not going to re-print those posts here simply because I'm too mad to summarize. 

One more thing.  When Pop defends him (remember that?  Pop saying the Suns fans don't know what they're talking about?), that is because Pop is an evil genius.  He doesn't want Coach D fired because he know that he can bust the Suns up so long as Coach D is behind the bench.

A good thing will come of this.  Sunday afternoon brunch and a game with my wife.  As some of you may know, it's a win-win when you take your non-sports-loving significant other to a meaningless game.

Your thoughts on the next new coach?

Rumor has it that the Grizzlies are close to giving Mark Iavaroni the heave-ho.  Trade away your best player for Kwame Brown and you should be able to get 50 wins, right?  Kevin O'Neal is supposed to be a hard-nosed defensive guy.  Do you think Lute will put a good word for him with Steve Kerr?  Isn't Larry Brown available?  Pitno?  I guess Cotton Fitzsimmons isn't going to come walking through that door.

Bluntman suggested Eddie Johnson.  EJ always seems to know what he's talking about and does not gratuitously use the word "energy" in every other sentence.

Last point:

I didn't listen to all of the post-game interviews for fear that I'd intentionally drive into a lamp-post, but I did hear Amare Stoudemire saying that the Spurs play "playoff basketball" because they efficiently use every offensive possession and are not looking to put up any old shot in the first few seconds.  Hmmm ...

Note to Steve Kerr -- keep The Franchise happy.