Duncan May End Up With First MVP

Tim Duncan is expected to be named the NBA’s most valuable player for the first time, an honor that is bittersweet in this playoff season.

The official announcement is expected to come Thursday at a news conference in San Antonio, according to several reports. Duncan will be honored before Game 3 Friday at the Alamodome.

Duncan’s father, William, died early last week after a long illness.

Duncan reportedly beat out New Jersey Net guard Jason Kidd in balloting among 126 media members in the U.S. and Canada, and Shaquille O’Neal was third.

Naturally, Duncan is downplaying the talk.

“It’d be great if it does happen,” he said. “Honestly, that’s not important right now. The important thing is the game tomorrow and trying to win that one. The whole MVP thing, it’s going to take care of itself.”

Duncan posted career-highs in scoring (25.5 points) and rebounding (12.7), which ranked fifth and second in the league. He was third in blocked shots and averaged nearly four assists.

Guard Terry Porter said Duncan deserves the award.

“It will surprise me if he wins because everybody’s been kind of giving it to Jason Kidd,” Porter said. “I think he should get it.”

Porter had a different take on Duncan’s value to the team.

“A lot of guys were joking after the game at Seattle that we earned him the MVP,” he said, referring to the Spurs’ 91-79 Game 4 loss, which the forward missed to attend his father’s funeral. “I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.”

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Spur Coach Gregg Popovich said that a realistic return for David Robinson would be Friday. An appearance in Game 2 today was unlikely.

“He is making progress,” Popovich said after Monday’s practice at the Staples Center. “We’re a lot more hopeful for Friday. He’s getting close.”

Robinson, who has played in only one of the Spurs’ six playoff games, tried to practice, but pain in his right ankle has affected his mobility. The ankle pain is a result of a herniated disk in his lower back.

“He was able to do a little scrimmage,” Popovich said. “Again, it got to the point where it kind of stopped working for him. That nerve has been tough in getting it healed.”

Guard Antonio Daniels said the Spurs can function without their center.

“We can’t control whether Dave is on the floor or whether he’s not on the floor,” Daniels said. “Obviously, if he is on the floor, we’re a much better ball club.”

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Duncan certainly didn’t have an MVP performance in Game 1, when he missed his first 10 shots and 21 of 30.

“I have to shoot the ball better,” he said. “I have to make better decisions out of double-teams.”

Simply put, San Antonio can’t afford another 31.8% performance from the field.

“You need to shoot better than 32 [percent] to beat the Lakers probably,” Popovich said. “That’d be a good bet.”