[h1]Wright is getting party started right[/h1]
Scott Ostler, Chronicle Staff Writer
Monday, March 3, 2008
(03-02) 23:59 PST Oakland -- In baseball, you've got to have your closer, and those guys, the great ones, are starting to get into the Hall of Fame.
The Warriors are attacking the game from the other end. They're developing an opener.
OK, it's only two games, but rookie Brandan Wright is the guy who is lighting the fuse for the Warriors.
The 20-year-old, 6-foot-9 beanpole opened Sunday night's game against the Trail Blazers by scoring eight points (4-for-5 shooting) and grabbing six rebounds in the first quarter, which ended with the Warriors up 29-22.
"It would be good if he did that every game," Warriors coach Don Nelson said, in a complimentary fashion.
Uh, Wright does.
In the last two games, with center Andris Biedrins recovering from appendix removal, here's Wright's line: 37 minutes, 25 points, 14 rebounds and four blocked shots.
Why didn't Wright play more in the second half Sunday? He played nine minutes and was on the bench down the stretch. Was it because of matchups?
"No," Nelson said. "No reason, other than I wanted to play other guys."
And the other guys played well. And the Warriors won. And because Nelson has his team 36-22, you can't call him a dummy.
But unless Wright's two-game flurry is an aberration, we're looking at a guy playing himself into the rotation.
"He's coming along nicely," Nelson said.
Wright doesn't scare anyone at the tip-off. He wears braces on his teeth, and his calves are as big around as Shaquille O'Neal's fingers.
Wright's locker is in a corner of the Warriors' locker room, next to 22-year-old Monta Ellis'. After a game, they look like two dudes spiffing up for the prom. It's the kiddie corner.
Ellis has turned into a revelation - 22 points and 10 rebounds Sunday - and maybe Wright feeds off that, sees you don't have to look like a weightlifter or a mafia hit-man to play NBA basketball.
Like Ellis, Wright is on the quiet side. He's the last guy who will be lobbying for more playing time, publicly or privately. He'll take what he gets.
"When you're a baby, you don't walk first, you have to crawl," Wright said, in regard to increased playing time.
Sunday, Wright started up front next to Chris Webber. Nelson said after the game that he liked the idea of the two big guys balancing one another.
"I thought (Wright) was a good matchup with Webber," Nelson said. "Young and athletic, with old and not-athletic."
Nelson didn't mean that as a put-down of Webber. And Nelson added that Wright can also serve as a old-young balance with Al Harrington and Austin Croshere.
But Nelson is certainly on the money about the yin-yang thing. Sunday Webber looked as old and non-athletic and Wright looked young and peppy. Webber played eight minutes and had one point and one rebound.
Webber is hurt, he's got a sore knee, and that might be why, so far, he has been a colossal not-what-the-Warriors-were-hoping-for. He looks ... old and not athletic.
On one fast break, Webber took the ball to the hoop and everyone who remembers the old C-Webb flashed back to the famous spinning-flying layup around Charles Barkley. Alas, this time Webber couldn't even get the shot off - he was fouled - and his glam-dunking days are in the past.
It could be that Wright the baby has crawled into the picture at the perfect time.
If Webber's knee is in bad shape, or if he continues to look old and rusty, the Warriors can't afford to keep playing him. Especially not to start games, since early-game energy has been a team problem.
Wright, on the other hand, is the antidote to first-quarter lethargy. On the first play of the game, on a missed Blazers' shot, Wright couldn't quite reach a high rebound, but he quick-jump poked it away from a Blazer, to a teammate, leading to a three-pointer by Steven Jackson.
What happens when Biedrins returns?
You can't relegate Biedrins to a Wally Pipp role just yet, because compared to Wright, Biedrins (who turns 21 next month) is a battle-tested veteran. But a couple more games like the last two and Wright is going to be tough to hide.
He jumps quicker than Biedrins, and, with flying hooks and little spinning jumpers, has a larger offensive repertoire than Biedrins.
In the NBA, a team has to constantly change and improve/evolve, or get left behind. The Lakers are doing that. The Suns tried, and may have lost a big gamble.
The Warriors have had two big changes recently, and I'm not talking about getting Webber.
They've had Ellis step his game up one large level, taking some burden off Baron Davis and putting some burden on opposing defenses.
And Wright. It's only two games, but the toothpaste is out of the tube. You can't hide him. He might play himself back to the bench, but he has forced the Warriors to give him a look.
Right now the rest of the league is keeping an eye on the energy coming out of the kiddie corner.
. I doubt we'll catch you guys, butit's fun to think we can
.
eek
