Doug Birrell, 39, is in his 10th season as the Jazz's full-time massage therapist. He worked with Karl Malone and was hired by the Jazz after Malone signed his last contract. Matt Harpring and Mehmet Okur make the most regular use of Birrell, who accompanies the Jazz on the road.

Q: How many teams have full-time massage therapists?

A: I want to say 10. Everybody uses them, but probably 10. I think I was the third one. The two that were before me were the guy for Boston and the guy for Miami.

Q: Are you busier on game days or off days?

A: Off days are my busy days. I go to practice, work on a couple people there, and then I start going to [players'] homes, usually one right after another until I'm done. Sometimes it's 5 or 6, sometimes it's 9, 10, 11 o'clock at night.

Q: Do guys tell you it makes a difference in how they feel, how they hold up over the course of a season?

A: I think most times players don't want to say anything one way or another. If they use you a lot, then you know it does. It's a whole player mentality. If you think an outside force can change how you play, you don't want to think that because it all has to come from inside.

Karl told me that . . . which is one of the reasons he wanted me to start traveling because he would go [for a massage] every other day. He used it so much because he worked out so much. It was everything you see these guys doing plus two hours more every day.

It would clean out his body, but then when he'd go on all these long road trips, he'd really miss it and his body couldn't keep up with the demand. The massage basically cleans you out. If getting healthy is six steps, it takes the first three steps out, so your body doesn't have to do it.