DUNCAN IS RELUCTANT LEADING MAN SPURS CENTER QUIETLY GOES ABOUT HIS WORK.

Byline: Steve Dilbeck Staff Writer

SAN ANTONIO - Shhh ... we have to do this quietly. Almost like no one is allowed to notice. So when it's over, people will wonder whether they really saw it.

Could it be? To Shaquille O'Neal's complete dismay, could it be that Tim Duncan is the most skilled big man in the NBA?

People know the Spurs forward is good, know he's a remarkable player. But do they really appreciate what he does?

Understand, San Antonio's leading man hardly helps his cause on the self-promotion front. Duncan is to flash what O'Neal is to understatement. This is a mild-mannered guy who acts like the hardest part of his job isn't trying to push the 350-pound O'Neal around but talking to the media.

On the court, he brings almost inconspicuous domination. He does all the little things, but without the dramatic accents of most of his peers. When it's over, you're left both beaten and bewildered. The numbers always seem larger than expected.

Derek Anderson signed with the Spurs in the offseason largely because he admired Duncan, because he wanted to play with him. Yet he's been as amazed as anyone at Duncan's complete game. Like when Duncan had 19 points and 13 rebounds at the half in the deciding Game 5 victory against Dallas last week.

``I was just in awe of him,'' Anderson said. ``He did it so smart. He's just out there. It's not like Kobe (Bryant) gets it and everybody is, `Wow, he hit 10 in a row.' Tim is just out there fluid.

``I played against him, and Tim would always have 20 and 10, and you say he's always in there. But when you finally see it - I've never seen nothing like it. When Shaq dunks, he dunks with authority. Tim will shoot a bank shot and everybody will say, `Good shot.' I didn't know the guy was that good until I saw him up close.''

Duncan does everything efficiently, not spectacularly. And whatever he does normally is done without any effort to bring attention to it. Yet the numbers always are there. In San Antonio's nine playoff games, he leads the Spurs in scoring (25.0) and rebounding (15.4), and is second in assists (3.6), blocks (2.0) and steals (1.0).

He is the silent killer, the complete player, one of the game's best defenders. His moves aren't designed to be highlighted on SportsCenter, but to win games.

``He doesn't showboat or do anything crazy,'' Anderson said. ``He doesn't do a lot of extra things. He just does it, and he's gone.''

Duncan also might lead the league in dull quotes, which would partly explain how he seems more respected than idolized. That and the fact he plays in lightly populated San Antonio, a few light years removed from the major media centers. Yet if Duncan's personality keeps a lid on his popularity, that's how he prefers it.

``Tim's never too engaged or impressed with all the hoopla that goes around the NBA or his success,'' Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. ``He wants to play and go home. Everything else is not all that important to him.''

Like this MVP voting thing. It was announced Tuesday that Philadelphia guard Allen Iverson won, with Duncan second and O'Neal third. Apparently miffed at finishing behind Duncan, O'Neal uncharacteristically left practice without talking to the media.

``Great, he can have my votes,'' Duncan said. ``It doesn't really matter. I think the right guy won MVP and Allen Iverson did a great job this year. For his team, he was absolutely the most valuable player.''

O'Neal has said Duncan (260 pounds) is too light to guard him and intimated that the games of both Duncan and fellow 7-footer David Robinson look better because the Twin Towers have each other. O'Neal will start on Robinson in this Western Conference finals series, but if he stays out of foul trouble, Lakers coach Phil Jackson will have him guard Duncan in the second half.

``I think it's very obvious where they're attacking from - and that is through Tim Duncan,'' Lakers forward Rick Fox said.

Horace Grant draws the most challenging defensive assignment for the Lakers and will start on Duncan. If Duncan is less than thrilled with any noise O'Neal makes - ``I don't read a whole lot of what he says'' - he is respectful of Grant.

``A real smart player,'' Duncan said. ``Plays hard all the time. He never seems to miss from 15 to 17 feet. Crashes the boards hard. He's a tough defender. He fills a role and does it very well.''

The 6-foot-10 Grant, who guarded Rasheed Wallace and Chris Webber in the Lakers' first two series, has his own take on what makes Duncan special.

``I think it's his footwork, especially in the post,'' Grant said. ``He has amazing footwork. He's got a jump hook, left and right. He can face you up. He can take one dribble and go up.''

Duncan nearly did all this silent damage in Orlando this year. A free agent, he struggled with whether to return to the Spurs or join Grant Hill and sign with the Magic.

If he had, the Lakers likely would have a clear path to the Finals, where they might just have found the Magic.

``It would have altered the whole state of the NBA,'' Spurs forward Danny Ferry said. ``It obviously alters the Spurs. I don't think Derek Anderson comes here. I'm not quite as important, but I wouldn't have been here. I wanted to go to a team that had a chance to win it all.''

In the end, that's what most played on Duncan's mind, not the San Antonio billboards pleading with him to stay. The Spurs won the title two years ago.

``I came back to win a championship,'' Duncan said. ``This is along the road, the step you have to take. You have to go through these guys (Lakers) to get to the championship. We're right where we want to be.''

Of course, it comes equipped with the glare of the national spotlight. The media's number swells with each passing series. Duncan, the reluctant star, treats it as obligation, as part of the job description.

Still, he hardly seems to look at himself as a national celebrity.

``I don't feel or not feel like one,'' he said. ``It doesn't matter to me. I just go home and play with my dogs.''

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``...When Shaq dunks, he dunks with authority. Tim will shoot a bank shot and everybody will say, `Good shot.' I didn't know the guy was that good until I saw him up close.'' - Derek Anderson, San Antonio guard

Bill Janscha/Associated Press