
The long arms are the same, and so is the stoic facade. The most anticipated rookie in the NBA this season combines a superstar’s skill set with a 12th-man’s work ethic, and a capacity for detail that borders on obsessive-compulsive. So it is not without merit that New Orleans’ Anthony Davis — the precocious 19-year-old from Kentucky drafted No. 1 overall in June — has earned impossible billing as “The Next Tim Duncan” among some NBA observers. To this common perception, the original Tim Duncan offers this humble rejoinder: “I’m not gone yet,” said Duncan, the Spurs’ 36-year-old, two-time league MVP. “Can I be me for a little while?”