I'll be honest, when I first saw Tim Duncan laughing at the end of the bench during the final minutes of the ass-whooping that the clowns from Phoenix put on us last night, I was a little perturbed.

'll be honest, when I first saw Tim Duncan laughing at the end of the bench during the final minutes of the ass-whooping that the clowns from Phoenix put on us last night, I was a little perturbed. I mean, I wasn't even in the mood to laugh, and that game was should be much more important to him than to me. There I am feeling sick, having to watch Minnie Mouse, the JV, Crazy Eyes, Earmuffs, and Handles all sharing the court at one time and the leader of the team is laughing on the bench.

As I thought about it further though, I realized, this is a good thing. This is evidence that what SiMA said is true, that game last night was but one move in the chess match that Pop is playing with the rest of the league. Surely they did not come out intending to lose, but Pop probably knew we were pretty early on, and he let his team know that we are a good enough team to lose this game and still win the series easily.

I have laughed Duncan's laugh before. When I wrestle with my little brother (15 years my junior) and I take moment to catch my breath, he seizes that moment like a crazed wildcat, slugging me all over and trying to inflict as much pain as possible before I start fighting again. That was Duncan's laugh. He was as resistant to the Suns victory as I am to the blows of an 11 year old. He's just waiting for the Suns to tire themselves out so he can pin them on the floor and dangle spittle over their heads,  just because he can.