Wizards Bullets 1-7

During Sunday's Cowboys vs. Redskins game, the generally incoherent John Madden said of running back Marion Barber, "He may be the best finisher in the NFL." Then he added something about Brett Farve and Tinactin and yelled the word "Boom!"

Indeed, Barber's a beast at crunch time, and Madden's comment got me thinking about the overwhelming desire by most athletes to start games, when in fact, what's ultimately more important is who's playing at the end. The finishers win and lose games.

In the NFL, starting is not such an immense concern. While you may not start on the first play of a game, you could be in on the second snap or the next series. Until this year, Barber was the perfect example. The now departed Julius Jones started and Barber finished.

On the hardwoods, however, it seems the "starter" tag is more a rite of passage. But in reality, it's an ego thing. Ask most starters in the NBA today if they'd mind coming off the bench to give their team better balance, and the general reaction is a resounding "Oh hello no!" There's a competitive rationale, of course, and without it these guys would have never made it to the big show. But while guys like Utah's Andre Kirilenko and the Bulls' Ben Gordon suggest they are satisfied coming off the bench, in reality it's killing them inside.

It makes me think back to old school guys like Alvin Battle, the largest mammal to ever dunk on me. He was a key reserve on the 1983 North Carolina State Wolfpack national championship team and ironically roomed with (and remains close to) Thurl Bailey, who defined himself over a 12-year pro career as an annual contender for the NBA's 6th man award. But as long as I've known Alvin he's always had a great humility about him. He's content making those around him better in every aspect of his life - on the court, with his family, in his faith, or at work. Which is why he excelled coming off the pine at NC State.

There's a pretty good list of finishers in the NBA today. A few who have caught my eye early on include:

• Rudy Fernandez, Trailblazers: If you haven't caught the Blazers this season, keep an eye out for Ferndandez. The rail thin, 6'6 rookie from Spain has been solid in averaging 13.6 pts off the bench. Last week he helped send the Heat to a loss with a spinning, high arching 16-footer and finished with 25 pts and two steals. And if you'd like just a little taste - watch him lay down the hammer on Dwight Howard in the Olympics. Ouch!


• Aaron Brooks, Rockets: With the focus in Houston on Artest, McGrady, and Yao - guys like the diminutive Brooks get lost in the shuffle. The second-year player out of Oregon has been a sparkplug off coach Rick Adelman's bench this season, not only leading the second unit but often finishing games. Just ask Grant Hill what he thinks after this.


• Lamar Odom, Lakers: One of the most multi-talented guys in the NBA, Odom has always been a starter until this season. Now as a reserve, he's given Phil Jackson a presence off the bench that the team has sorely lacked, and his size and passing ability make him one of the tougher matchups - which is helpful down the stretch and creates more opportunities for Kobe Bryant to hoist ill-conceived bombs.

News & Notes

• The Bullets won! The Bullets finally won! Then they lost...again.


• The Hawks finally lost...four straight.


• The Nuggets are a different team since the Iverson trade. Now in first place in the Northwest after last night's win over Milwaukee, coach George Karl told the Denver Post, ""There are less bad plays, more solid plays ... Sometimes I saw something, but I couldn't get it done on the court because I didn't have a playmaker out there." Chauncey Billups is just the playmaker Karl needed, and it showed in the team's 94-85 victory over the Celtics in Boston last week.


• As mentioned in my column on chemistry, Tracy McGrady gets hurt roughly every five games he plays, and in every 11 games he doesn't play. And it happened yet again on Tuesday night vs. Oklahoma City. If McGrady is down for long, don't be surprised to see Houston make a little run.


• Roger Mason, who was electric at Virginia but has bounced around pro hoops since 2002, is playing a key role in keeping the Spurs above water while they wait for Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili to return from injury. He's averaging 14.5 pts and hit the game winning shot to put down the lowly Clips (great choice Baron!) on Tuesday.


• Despite losing to Boston last night, the Knicks continue to play steady ball led by eight-time convicted felon Zach Randolph of all people. He's third in the league in rebounds with a 12.3 per-game average, and in losing to the Mavs on Sunday, scored 27 and pulled down 18 boards.


• Dwayne Wade needs some help in Miami. Rookie Michael Beasley is playing well, but Shawn Marion needs to step up and play like the Phoenix version of Marion if the team is going to make the playoffs.


• With Mark Cuban now accused of insider trading, there just has to be a Mavericks joke there. Give it your best shot in the comments, because at this point in the day, I've already had too much John Daniels (when you know him as well as I do, it's "John").

Carry on.

*if you wish to tell Dr. Aaron how much you dislike him, he can be reached at YourThoughtsDontMatter@gmail.com.