Heat forward Chris Gatling pleads the sixth.

In a sports landscape filled with pampered, egotistical, overpaid athletes, Gatling prefers coming off the bench in a sixth-man role to starting.

"A lot of people like starting, coming out here and hearing their name called," said Gatling, 34. "But it doesn't really bother me. I get a better seat to see things a little differently when I'm sitting on the bench. I could see how the game is going."

Many complain about minutes. Not Gatling. He has had several opportunities in a much-traveled 11-year, eight-team NBA career to start, but he has convinced his coaches that he's better suited as a backup.

"They used me to provide energy in Jersey [1998], and when Keith Van Horn got hurt there was an opportunity to start, but I opted to stay on the bench," said Gatling, who made the All-Star Game in 1997 with Dallas (and New Jersey), where he averaged a career-high 19 points and 7.9 rebounds in 26.8 minutes.

Gatling has started only 87 of 656 games. Even his father wants the former first-round pick to start, as he had for Elizabeth High in New Jersey.

"Dad complains and says 'If you can start, start,'" Gatling said. "That's not my role. I want to go out there and do something I love to do, and that's play basketball at a high level and help my team win."

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Miami Heat

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