Bench Reaction: Marbury vs. Gordon

OK... more details about Marbury. It's OK to jump to conclusions now! It turns out he left because he was pulled from the starting lineup for the night. And he thinks he should always be in the the lineup because he has "so much dirt" on Isaiah. I think it was a total overreaction. Coaches mix lineups all the time. It makes sense to do that based on opposing team matchups. The Knicks are such a mess! It sure makes great news stories though.

The Bulls have their early season issues too... enough for Scott Skiles to mix up their starting five. Here's Ben Gordon's reaction on possibly coming off the bench:

"If that's what I have to do, that's what I have to do. I don't have a choice right now. We're 1-5. We need some kind of change to get everybody going. If me coming off the bench will help, or somebody else coming off... I'm all about winning right now. Whatever it takes, I just want to win. I don't want to continue to lose. So whatever works, works."

See a difference? That's a reaction from a professional basketball player who trusts his teammates. None of the Bulls mind coming off the bench... a benefit of a zero ego team. I don't see why players are so sensitive about starting. When Gordon got the 6th man award during his rookie season, he came off the bench, played just as many minutes as many of the starters and won games for the team. If your a good bench player, you can get the same playing time and have a chance to hit game winners. So why so much emphasis on starting the 1st quarter? I always thought Gordon was better off the bench. It was said during his first year that he was "so great coming off the bench that he may never get a starting position!"