All eyes are on Duncan

alamo50 · by **alamo50** on Tue May 06, 2003 11:27 am

A lil' late with posting, but I realy wanted to share this great article with all y' all: 
 
By Michael Ventre 
NBCSports.com 
 
All eyes are on Spurs’ Duncan 
 
The rules state that the NBA’s Most Valuable Player is the man deemed the king of the regular season. But we all know better. Truth is, the MVP argument never really ends. Sure, votes are cast and counted. One guy receives the trophy in a brief but sappy ceremony. Yet many refuse to accept the results. 
 
IT’S A LOT LIKE AN ELECTION held in Florida. Despite the start of the playoffs, basketball equivalents of hanging chads and phantom ballots abound. The dawn of the postseason is supposed to signal a halt to the debates, but all it does is inflame them. 
If you’re Spurs forward Tim Duncan, and you’ve just been named MVP for the second straight year, don’t think it’s over. Pose for a couple of photos, answer a few questions, then dash out of that particular spotlight as quickly as Tony Parker on a fast break. 
Duncan’s peers are unconvinced. They’ll applaud his numbers, his talent, his leadership. 
 
But the real MVP steps up in the postseason and carries his club. Again, forget about the guidelines set forth for the voters. That’s the titular MVP. On playgrounds, in bars, in gymnasiums, on the streets, in train stations, at Starbucks, on talk radio, in shopping malls, at dinner tables — and especially on other teams — the populace will be talking about The Real MVP. 
He is The Man. He carries with him that hardwood swagger, because he has been there. He has slayed the mightiest dragons. He has posterized most of the league, including contenders for his throne. He has led his men through the pressure moments of the most important games. He wants the ball in his hands for the final shot. He drains the final shot. 
 
He raises an indignant index finger, sneers at his critics and shouts, “I am the Most Valuable Player in the world, so don’t (bleep) with me!” 
Of course, it still might be Duncan. It all depends on how he does against his playoff opponents, and especially the Lakers. 
The Spurs take on the three-time defending world champions in the Western Conference semifinals. It is as hotly anticipated as “The Matrix Reloaded” and figures to contain as much action. 
The Spurs are coming off a fantastic regular season. The Lakers are coming off an embarrassing one. 
 
The Spurs, seeded first in the West, struggled to beat the No. 8 Phoenix Suns in six games. The Lakers, seeded fifth because they didn’t care enough to fight for a higher seed, survived their first-round tussle, also in six, against Minnesota. 
From a team standpoint, perhaps their respective problems in the first round had less to do with their opponents and more to do with an eagerness to get to the main event. 
 
From an individual perspective, the headline bout is the one between Duncan and the tag-team of Shaq and Kobe. 
This series is a test of manhood for Duncan. They’ll all say this is a team game, and they’ll all be correct. But the NBA is a league of stars who keep envious eyes on each other. Duncan’s every possession against the Lakers will be scrutinized. His shot selection will be broken down. His defense will be analyzed. 
Will he be able to get off that short bank jumper against the Lakers’ defense in the waning moments of the fourth quarter that could make the difference between advancement or vacation? We’ll see. 
 
Although Duncan’s Spurs swept the regular season against the Lakers, keep in mind that the Lakers got beat up by just about anybody who tried this year. San Antonio has lost eight of its past nine playoff games against L.A. Last spring, in a five-game ouster, Duncan averaged 29 points a game. 
But what do you remember about last season? Did you come away from the 2001-2002 campaign wide-eyed about the season Duncan had, and how the voters got it right? Or did you think about how preposterously unstoppable Shaq is? My guess is the latter, probably because he was still standing in June. 
We’re talking about the court of public opinion, not the MVP ballot tabulation. We’re discussing which player you would want right now to build your team around. 
It might very well be Duncan. He’s a great player, a good guy, a fine leader. He can score, rebound, defend. He has the admiration of his teammates, and indeed, even the grudging respect of his egocentric fellow NBA elite. 
 
I like Duncan. But he needs to put to rest some doubts. 
The Spurs won the championship in 1999, the year before Phil Jackson got to L.A. They did so during a strike-shortened season, against a feisty but anemic New York Knicks team, who represented the beginning of the end of the Eastern Conference. The Spurs still have a lot to prove. 
Duncan has been Herculean ever since. He is about as consistent a superstar as there has been in the league over the past four seasons. 
But he can’t seem to lead his team back to that same level. 
Why? It might be because of an L.A. roadblock, both physically and mentally. The Spurs were ousted directly by the Lakers in 2002 and 2001. In both cases, Duncan did his best, but he didn’t have enough help around him. 
 
Now he has Tony Parker (15.5 points per game, up 6 from his rookie season) with another year of experience. He has Manu Ginobili, who can score in bunches. He has a much improved Stephen Jackson. He has reliable front-line help in Malik Rose and Bruce Bowen, not to mention the retiring Admiral. 
Sure, this has been an MVP season for Duncan. But it also represents San Antonio’s best shot at a title since ’99. If the Spurs don’t get it, the focus won’t be on Parker or Robinson or coach Gregg Popovich. 
 
All accusing eyes will lock on Duncan. He’s the MVP, after all. Look at all the abuse Kevin Garnett just endured when he couldn’t single-handedly lift his undermanned Timberwolves past the Lakers. 
Duncan has a heck of a lot more talent by his side. He’s supposed to will his team to victory. Even if he does his part and puts up glowing numbers in a losing cause, he’ll just be a regular-season flash in a pan grasped firmly by the Lakers. 
Unless, of course, he ends the season holding a different trophy. <div style="text-align:center"><img src="http://nl.msnusers.com/_Secure/0OwD7d!kUbmI41zzLQ6DPI*FYQ3ceK!EAGHsn7Ds1fk822dJP8FoQFBq5*nMDTPoFUQzLb73iIzUWLmz5RhMQODGBigU7lIPm/alamo50.jpg"/></div>

All eyes are on Duncan

All eyes are on Duncan

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