SPURS NOTEBOOK: ROBINSON: RELUCTANT OBSERVER IN GAME 1.

Byline: Steve Dilbeck Staff Writer

SAN ANTONIO - The camera caught him, the opposing coach saw him, but you had to wonder if David Robinson's own coach noticed. But there was Robinson, for nearly a third of the game, sitting on the San Antonio bench.

That would be David Robinson, voted one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history. David Robinson, whom many of the Lakers call the best defensive center in the league.

When Robinson left in the first quarter of the Spurs' opener in the NBA Western Conference finals, San Antonio led the Lakers by six. By the end of the period, they trailed by seven and would never lead again in the 104-90 defeat.

In the second half, the 35-year-old Robinson sat for more chunks of time. When he did return, he replaced Tim Duncan, giving surprisingly little time to the Twin Towers on the floor together.

By game's end, Robinson had played 30 minutes. That's just what he averaged during the regular season, but this is the Western Conference finals. This is what you normally rest your older players for.

``Yeah, I was surprised,'' Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. ``I thought that the normal pattern of taking him out in the first quarter and (Malik) Rose came in, I was comfortable with that. They change the game style a little bit, to speed it up and move it up and down the floor.

``But in the second half, I thought we'd see him more than we did. I was happy he wasn't out there that much.''

Rose is 6-foot-7, which leaves him a little overmatched against 7-1 Shaquille O'Neal.

``I think a lot of it was probably that during the season we had that kind of rotation and I averaged about 30 minutes a game,'' Robinson said. ``I don't know exactly why, but obviously I'm going to have to be on the floor a lot more.''

Robinson shot mostly mid-range jumpers against the Lakers, missing 10 of 16 field goals. He finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich wasn't buying any theories that the lead slipped away because Robinson sat.

``It's not that simplistic,'' he said. ``Just because you lose a lead when one player comes out doesn't mean it's because that one player came out. You can't make that correlation every time. David came out when he normally does in our rotations.''

--Anderson practices: Not that it had anything to do with Kobe Bryant torching the Spurs for 45 points in the opener, but Derek Anderson practiced for the first time Sunday since suffering his separated shoulder May 5.

Anderson, who normally tries to guard Bryant, said he is hoping to return by Friday's Game 3 at Staples Center.

``It felt good,'' Anderson said. ``I got to go to the hole, penetrate and shoot the ball well. So that was good. ... (My shoulder) didn't bother me at all.''

He said there was ``no chance'' he would play tonight.

--One more bad number: In the 17 previous times the Spurs have lost the opener of a playoff series, they've won exactly zero.

``You guys know stuff like that,'' Spurs guard Antonio Daniels said to reporters. ``We don't really care about that. That's all in the past. We're looking ahead.''

--Odds and ends: Popovich on trying to guard Bryant with a taller player: ``Well, usually what you have to do is guard him with the guys on your team. That's pretty hard to change, their height. Good question, though.'' ... Robinson on Bryant's dunks: ``We have to stop him when he comes to the bucket. He can't come in there over two 7-footers and dunk the ball.'' ... Popovich on whether he saw anything on film he can change: ``God, I hope so.''

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David Robinson, left, was on the San Antonio bench much longer than either he or the Lakers expected Saturday.

David J. Phillip/Associated Press