The San Antonio Spurs played the Seattle SuperSonics twice in the past week, and here is a look at the basics of those two games.

Game 1: Tim Duncan, 25 points, 16 rebounds, five blocks. David Robinson, 12 points, four rebounds. Sonics win 79-76.

Game 2: Duncan, 30 points, 18 rebounds, nine assists, two blocks. Robinson, 20 points, nine rebounds, two blocks. Spurs win 100-98.

	A chat with coach Gregg Popovich revived a listless David Robinson.

Now, you tell me, what difference do you see?

Each and every night, Tim Duncan is going to be there. Hell, given the fact that Shaquille O'Neal is going to miss his 70th game this season with either a toe injury, a wrist injury or because somebody hurt his feelings, Duncan should probably win the MVP award. (No, Jason Kidd should not win the award for a team that has won 48 games in a watered-down conference, no matter what was said way back in December.)

But each and every night, David Robinson is either going to be there, or he is going to be off thinking about either how ridiculous the song "Ebony and Ivory" was, or all the inconsistencies in "The Hunt for Red October." Basically, as Robinson goes, so go the San Antonio Spurs.

In that second game against the Sonics, for instance, first-day Naval Academy plebes make more noise than Robinson did in the first half. While Duncan was playing his Tailfin off, Robinson strolled around the court, virtually invisible, coming up with six points and two rebounds only because he is 7 feet tall and happened to be in the Alamodome.

But, once again, coach Gregg Popovich had to get into his players at halftime. You ever notice that NBA coaches have season-long euphemisms, and they usually are directed at the same player?

When Nate McMillan says the Sonics had no interior presence, he means Vin Baker played like a pansy.

When Jerry Sloan said the Jazz did not come out with the right attitude and the fans should feel ripped off, he is talking about Greg Ostertag.

When Phil Jackson talks about his team coasting and thinking they can turn it on whenver they want, he is talking about Shaq's defense.

And when Popovich calls the Spurs "soft," as he does probably 15 times a day, he is talking about Robinson.

So in his halftime speech the other night, you can pretty much bet that Popovich told Robinson he was playing like Penny Hardaway. And guess what happened? Robinson came out aggressive, scoring 13 third-quarter points, the Spurs went on a 31-7 run to start the half and they ended up winning the game.

"When David is energized like that," Popovich said, "we're one heck of a team."

That game against the Sonics was actually a perfect microcosm of Robinson's entire season. He treated the first half of that game like he treated the first half of the season, running around as if he was still depressed from getting "only" an $8 million contract this year instead of his usual $17 mil. It got so bad that Popovich didn't use him in the fourth quarter of many games.

Many San Antonio insiders said a lot of Robinson's meager numbers -- he averaged eight points, seven rebounds and 36 percent shooting in January -- had to do with Avery Johnson no longer being on the team. Both Christians, they say Johnson used to invoke God when Robinson played poorly, telling Robinson that God would be embarrassed for him. Often, it kick-started him. But with Johnson in Denver, Robinson became disconnected more than he normally is, just kind of rolling through life, doing his own thing.

Really, is there more of a controversial player than Robinson for a player who never causes any controversy? The guy recently got his 20,000th point, one of only 27 players in NBA history to do that. He has a championship. He has gold medals. And there was a time when he was the most dominant player in the game.

And yet some question whether he, along with Scottie Pippen, should even be on the NBA's top 50 player list. Can a player who doesn't seem to take an interest in the game be an ambassador for the game? Can a player whose passions lie elsewhere be included among players whose lives are the game? Can a player who is regularly called soft by his own coach be considered one of the best of all-time?

Somewhere in January though, Robinson copped an attitude. He got tired of watching Malik Rose stumble up and down the court in his place. And so Robinson finally took an interest and went to Popovich on Jan. 20.

	“	I said, 'Hey, what are you thinking about?' What are you trying to do with me? You want to use me this year, or what?' So (Popovich) finally agreed he was going to use me. ”
		— David Robinson

"I said, 'Hey, what are you thinking about?' What are you trying to do with me? You want to use me this year, or what?' " Robinson recalled. "So he finally agreed he was going to use me."

Popovich agreed to play him more, and in the next 20 games, he had 17 double-doubles. "I gave him the benfit of the doubt," Popovich said, "and he ended up being right."

Now, the question remains, what will Robinson do against Shaq, should it come to that?

These were the Spurs who were absolutely rolled over by the Lakers in the playoffs last season, and Robinson was the first one under the tire tread. It ran all the way up his yellow back.

Things never looked more bleak when the Spurs played the Lakers this season without Shaq, and Robinson missed all eight of his shots and scored four points. Did someone say Stay-Puff Marshmallow Man?

But since that debacle, the Spurs, with Robinson, have defeated the Lakers by 18, then lost to them by one point last Sunday when Shaq got away with a foul on Duncan in front of the entire country. The Spurs should have won. The Spurs know it. The Lakers know it. And, most of all, Robinson knows it. That will go a long way if and when the teams meet in the playoffs.

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