I admire the optimism from Suns fans, I really do. I’m not trying to be Buzz Killington but it needs to be mentioned that the Suns have no idea what Pop has in store for them. I can't fathom how the Suns would go about winning the next 3 games. This series, just like every series, is a chess match. Pop has methodically played this game in his head over and over again. Move by move, he has scripted out how this battle needs to be fought and won. He knows exactly what D’Antoni is going to do before Coach D even dreams it up. He studies his opponents in victory and defeat, finding ways to exploit their weaknesses and limit their strengths. He leads a group that has forged 4 championships by pounding the rock.

For those of you who have visited PTR but never quite understood the significance of the title, allow me to enlighten you. Hung in the entryway to the Spurs locker room is a quote. A quote that is written in English but also translated in Spanish, French and Slovenian. It serves as a reminder to every player who walks into the Spurs locker room and dons the silver and black uniform. It reminds them of our entire philosophy that is ingrained into every facet of the Spurs organization. It's what "makes us tick"; it’s our mantra.

"When nothing seems to help, I go look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not that blow that did it, but all that had gone before." — Jacob Riis

This is the drumbeat that the San Antonio Spurs march to. A beat that bears no resemblance to the cadence of a drum corps, leading troops to battle. Instead, it’s the harsh and rudimentary sound that is made when iron meets stone. If you’re not familiar with this sound, the best comparison I can offer you is the sound that can be heard after Shaq shoots a free throw.  

I will be the first person to profess that the Suns possess the talent to win a championship. But, as the Dallas Mavericks can attest to, talent alone does not win championships. The cancer within the Mavericks organization is their lack of heart and fragile psyche. However, this is not the case with your beloved Suns. The Suns posses the heart and determination, I will not deny that. The impeding force on this team is not a lack of talent, or an unwillingness to change. It’s simply, Mike D’Antoni. He is far and away being out coached in this series. Kerr knows it. We know it. He knows it.

Now who knows, Coach D could do the impossible and win this series in 7. He just might be pulling off the biggest rope-a-dope in sports history. Spurs nation could be in for the biggest let down just south of Dallas. But I will leave you with this little stat line. In the past 5 years, the Spurs are 14-2 in playoff series and have amassed a record of 64-30. The argument can easily be made that without Derrick Fisher's .04 shot in 04 and without Manu’s infamous foul in game 7 in 06, this team could very well have won 5 championships in a row. Shhhhhh!….. listen!….. out in the distance.... do you hear that? Clang. Clang. Clang…