SAN ANTONIO VS. LOS ANGELES PHILADELPHIA VS. MILWAUKEE

Wednesday, May 30 Tim, David are stars who -- gasp -- get along By Marc Stein Special to ESPN.com SAN ANTONIO -- ESPN.com Exclusive: David Robinson is jealous, sources say. Robinson used to be an MVP, but now he's fine playing second fiddle to Duncan. Envious of Tim Duncan. Sick of picking up stat sheets after games and seeing that showboat Duncan get credit for all his blocks and steals. We're serious. OK, no we're not. We'd like to be able to report, just once, that Robinson and Duncan are like everyone else in this league, fussing over their share of the numbers. That the fact Duncan earned a spot on the All-Defensive Team's first five, by some 27 votes ahead of The Admiral, could cause big problems heading into The Series Everybody Wanted. But it won't. After weeks of digging, probing for just a hint of Shaq-and-Kobe acrimony in the Alamo City, this is the most we could find. Robinson, in response to Duncan's all-defense selection, sternly informing his younger towering twin behind closed doors: "That's our award." And Duncan, in response to that declaration, just laughing. All the Spurs are in on it, actually. They love to needle old Mister Robinson about how Duncan gets all the stat love, because, well, even the league's most tranquil locker room needs a little noise. "They are the most experienced, emotionally stable team in the league," Miami's Pat Riley has said. "They don't get caught up in anything else." Which might be the Spurs' biggest advantage, besides the home-court edge, as they prepare to engage the Lakers in a seven-game showdown for the right to sweep Philly or whoever in the official NBA Finals. In this neighborhood, Robinson and Duncan don't wait until April Fool's Day to decide that they're ready to play nice. The Lakers needed a whole season for their heroes -- is it Superman and Superboy, or Batman and Robin? -- to reach a workable truce. San Antonio's freakishly friendly seven-footers are like Aquaman and all the fishies. It's like they communicate telepathically. Helps, of course, that there is a clear delineation between star No. 1 and No. 2 in San Antonio, as with MJ and Scottie The Sidekick in Chicago. Robinson, unmoved by Allen Iverson's recent half-century scoring bursts, continues to insist that "Tim is the best player in the league right now," -- an argument that certainly features Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant in addition to Iverson. Robinson hasn't figured in the debate for a good half-decade. Still, it's not quite right to just dismiss Robinson's selflessness as a slam-dunk. "We all have egos," he often reminds. The fact that Robinson does, yet embraces his sidekick status anyway, has spread that mentality throughout the neighborhood. Elliott A. Johnson Avery Johnson and Sean Elliott, starters during the title run of 1999, are off-the-bench men now. In private, they've grumbled a bit to Gregg Popovich. Not at Laker levels of discord, but they've lobbied to reclaim those starting spots. You just don't hear much about it. Because if the Twin Towers don't complain to us media scoundrels, no one does. That's the S.A. Way. "I am not going to sit around here and say, 'Well, OK, I like coming off the bench,' " Johnson said. "No, no, no, no. I miss my name not being called in the starting lineup." But ... "I don't know what kind of relationship Pat Riley has with Tim Hardaway," Johnson continued. "I don't know what kind of relationship Damon Stoudamire has with Mike Dunleavy. But I trust my coach. I trust his judgment. It has something to do with me, but it has something to do with the people I'm working with and for." “ They have two of the best big men ever to play the game. Therein lies the difference. Give them one and we're right there in it. But they've got two. San Antonio has two Garnetts. ” — Mavs coach Don Nelson It's those people -- Robinson and Popovich, mostly -- who convinced Duncan to stay in San Antonio last summer. Thisclose to signing with Orlando, Duncan changed his mind after a face-to-face meeting with The Admiral, who left his vacation home in Hawaii to fly back to South Texas and lobby the little stat-stealer personally. Had TD gone to the TD Waterhouse Centre, even if there wasn't room for Duncan, Grant Hill and Tracy McGrady on one payroll, you'd like Orlando's chances to reach the Finals. In today's easy East? Again, not a slam-dunk -- but not a 3-pointer, either. Duncan, undaunted, picked Robinson (35) over Hill (28), undoubtedly remembering that Shaq doesn't love wrestling with two towers at once. "They have two of the best big men ever to play the game," said Mavericks coach Don Nelson, his crew freshly flummoxed by Los Towers. "Therein lies the difference. Give them one and we're right there in it. But they've got two. "San Antonio has two Garnetts," Nelson added. The other Nelson, Donnie, is even more concerned about next season, when the rules change. Zones are supposed to help the Mavericks, since they have so many shooters and mobile bigs. Truth is, as Donnie Nelson points out, Dallas won't even be the biggest zone beneficiaries in the state. Says Donnie: "Tim and David? Next year? I don't know how you're going to get a shot off against those guys." If you want to know what really scares the Spurs, more than the outcome of the Duncan-dubbed Series Everybody Wanted, it's life post-Robinson. Duncan, in case you've forgotten, is only signed for two more seasons -- or as long as he expected The Admiral to be swathed in silver and black. Robinson insists he can play "four or five more years," but the rest of the crew will need a makeover sooner rather than later. Besides Robinson, you've got some well-worn thirtysomethings in Terry Porter, Steve Kerr, Danny Ferry, Elliott and Johnson. Re-signing Duncan might prove as tough as retaining him last time. What Popovich needn't sweat is the thought of friction between his leading men. In Hollywood, apart from injury, nothing troubles Phil Jackson more. Until Shaq and Kobe stopped clowning each other on April 1, keeping the potentially dynastic duo in concert was Zen Master Jackson's daily struggle. When unified, the Big Everything and his Big Little Brother are slight favorites to topple the Spurs in seven -- at least in this corner. Starting Saturday, we'll see which tandem is more title-worthy. Just don't expect any controversy out of the Alamo camp. Robinson, deep down, indeed doesn't like that Duncan seems to get all the credit, statistical and otherwise, for the Spurs' suffocating D. But the laughter and love are real, too. They wear silver and black, true, but they're the anti-Raiders. The anti Shaq-and-Kobe. Robinson, truly jealous? With these two Alamoans, remember, you have to manufacture the in-fighting. Surely you don't really think they were arguing about the daisies being in and the roses being out or however that damn commercial goes. Marc Stein, who covers the NBA for The Dallas Morning News, is a regular contributor to ESPN.com. Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories

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