The juxtaposition could not have been more dramatic when Seattle SuperSonics guard Brent Barry made his return to the starting lineup earlier this month. When Barry was injured on Jan. 27, victim of an untimely broken bone in his right ring finger, the Sonics stood at 22-20. By the time he re-ascended to the starting lineup on Mar. 13 at Orlando, the Sonics were 27-38, having gone 5-15 in the 20 games Barry missed and lost the two games he came off the bench to work his way back into playing shape. With Barry at full health, the Sonics proceeded to run off seven straight wins, working their way back into the playoff race.

Barry has proven invaluable to the Sonics over the course of his career. Jeff Reinking/NBAE/Getty

The comparison isn't quite as simple as it seems on the surface; the Sonics were entering their most difficult stretch of the year when Barry went down, and his return followed a brutal stretch where the Sonics played seven straight playoff teams, five of those games on the road. They played those games with Barry's backup, Antonio Daniels, at half-speed after bruising his ribs in a violent collision.

Still, the Sonics performance without Barry over his five years in Seattle cannot be written off as a statistical fluke. Barry has missed 48 games because of injury over that span, and the Sonics are 14 games below .500 in them, 17-31, a dismal .354 winning percentage. When Barry has played, the Sonics are 191-163, 28 games above .500 and a .540 ballclub.

Project those numbers to 82-game seasons, and Barry's absence takes the Sonics from a 44-win team to a 29-win one.

Barry has been one of the league's most efficient shooters throughout his time in Seattle. As SUPERSONICS.COM has noted in the past, Barry tops the league in shooting efficiency when his three-pointers and free throws are taken into account. He already led the league in that category during the 2001-02 season.

But that alone is not enough to explain Barry's extraordinary impact on the Sonics. After all, Barry only averages 10.5 points per game, and his backup, Daniels, was nearly as efficient a shooter much of the season before the bruised ribs sent him into a slump.

Instead, the Sonics performance without Barry speaks to the role and impact of his heady play when he is on the court. According to the Web site 82games.com, only Barry, Ray Allen and Jerome James have had better plus/minus ratings when they are on the court than off it the last two seasons, meaning the Sonics statistically are a better team with Barry in the lineup.

"If you have guys who are making positive impacts when they're in the game, I guess it's likened to a plus/minus in hockey," Barry himself explains. "You want to, obviously, have more plus minutes on the court than you do have negative minutes, so I guess in that way you can regulate and determine the effectiveness of a player for the rest of the team."

Just exactly what is different when Barry is on the court. Is it his approach to the game?

"I think I've always been a more cerebral player," he says. "I think sometimes having one or two players like that, I think coaches would rather have that than the guy who's out there making a lot more mental mistakes than they should."

Perhaps Barry's efficient scoring not only puts points on the board for the Sonics, it forces defenses to adjust to them, making things easier on offense for Barry's teammates.

"When he is knocking down his shot, looking to shoot the ball, then that's another option, another guy you have to be concerned about," says Coach Nate McMillan. "With Ray and Rod (Rashard Lewis), you know that we'll give those guys opportunities, and when Brent is knocking down his shot, it's another player that you've got to defend, you've got to stay close to, which opens up our offense for other guys."

The one area Barry and the coaching staff, particularly McMillan, have regularly disagreed on is how aggressive Barry should be looking for his own offense. Barry's deference is testament to his unselfishness and character, but McMillan would like him to be a little more selfish at times.

"Both," McMillan said recently when asked if he'd prefer Barry score 20 points or hand out 10 assists. "I've seen him do both and win. If he can do both at the same time, it would be even better. The last couple of games, his assists are up, his attempts are down and we've been able to win. Games before that he had the numbers and a few assists and we were able to win. I would like 12-15 and eight, those would be good numbers for him."

Barry does reject one explanation. McMillan, Allen and GM Rick Sund have all referred to Barry as the "glue" that helps hold the Sonics together. Displaying his trademark wit, Barry takes the description as damning with faint praise.

"I don't know. I don't know that I like that that much, because glue only lasts for so long. The adhesiveness wears off. I don't think mine does."

Does superglue work?