Doing It the Wright Way: The Dorell Wright Way!

Dorell Wright needs more minutes.  It’s as simple as that.

Let me start off by making it clear: I am still onboard for a January trade coming from Miami.

Having said that, all you can do until the trade deadline is wait and watch your team try to progress against the East's big four. It's hard after witnessing a horrible loss at home Sunday night. I started reviewing the wretched flaws that doomed Miami that night against Rudy Gay's Grizzlies.

A week passes by and Miami surprises, igniting its bench with blowout wins against Toronto and Orlando. A win versus the Magic that probably no one would have predicted. 

The excitement and faith fell short after a home loss to Portland with an astonishing 13-3 run by the Blazers to finish the game. Another week went by and it just added a 2-2 record to go along with a run of the mill season: 8-8 at home and 5-4 on the road. 

My patience tested by Miami's mediocre team, I started to check stats and lineups that could possibly help them out. A bench player caught my attention with his stats game by game. Dorell Wright, a 6'9" small forward straight out of high school player that, believe it or not, was part of Miami's 2005-2006 championship team.

I tried to understand why this high school star isn't producing like he should, considering he was a top 20 pick in the 2004 draft. He became injury prone starting off his first two seasons. Time has passed and that is all in the past now. He has certainly fulfilled his role as a bench player when he averages 25 minutes or more.

So with Beasley struggling to find his role on the team, Wade's scoring average slumping, Chalmers averaging more assists than points, and O'Neal playing like the has-been player he is, why don’t they utilize Wright in a way that will benefit Miami’s scoring dilemma? Wright played amazing off the bench in these past two wins at home. 

Wright against the Raptors: 16pts, 7 assists, 8 rebounds, 1 steal in 27 minutes.

Wright against the Magic: 11 pts, 8 rebounds, 1 steal in 26 minutes.

Miami played last night against a playoff contender in Portland and allowed a last minute 13-3 run, losing the game. Wright played a mere 20 minutes, averaging 4 points and nothing else.

It's still too early to tell whether or not Wright will truly make a difference in Miami's game. But considering the slump the Heat are in, it can’t hurt to play him more than 25 minutes.

Here's what I think: start Wright and have Quentin come off the bench. Q-Rich will strive with the help of a veteran presence in Haslem and Wright will create that scoring addition Wade and Beasley desperately need. As far as the PG position, keep rotating Chalmers and Arroyo. They aren't the best options but will have to do until a trade is made. 

Wade has always been a firm believer in Wright.  I think it’s time we follow that road as well.