Hornets' Wright learning the game by thinking a lot less

In The Wizard of Oz, the Scarecrow ponders all the wonderful things he could do if he only had a brain. New Orleans Hornets second-year forward Julian Wright is just the opposite. Bad things happen to him when he uses his brain too much.

"When he doesn't think, he's unbelievable," Chris Paul says. "I love playing with him in transition. He's a guy that gets a lot of deflections and can handle the ball. I love when he's out there."

When the 6-foot-8, 225-pound Wright quits thinking, he uses his length, quickness and outright athleticism to make plays on the court like he's been doing ever since he took up the sport as a child. "I know what's expected of me, that is to be aggressive, so when I start thinking I'm hesitant and I think that throws everyone off on the team," Wright says.

It's basic read-and-react principles. See a cross-court pass floating in the air? Shoot the gap and intercept it. Catch the ball in rhythm? Let it fly without hesitation. Notice your man is overplaying you on the perimeter? Cut back door and call for the lob.

New Orleans desperately needs Wright's contributions. The Hornets are jostling for playoff position on a nightly basis without injured stars Peja Stojakovic (back), Tyson Chandler (ankle) and James Posey (elbow). The injuries have thrust Wright, who averaged just 1.5 points and 1.5 rebounds in 7.5 minutes per game in February, into the starting lineup. He's averaging 7.7 points and 5.0 rebounds in 24.2 minutes per game in March and April.

With Chandler out, Wright not only has filled a gap in the starting lineup but has proven to be a worthy understudy in finishing Paul's perfectly-placed alley-oops.

"I love when Ju-Ju is out there," Paul says. "[He] has been my replacement until Tyson comes back and hopefully when Tyson comes back, I'll have both of them as an option, because Julian is a high-flyer."

New Orleans coach Byron Scott is using Wright out of necessity, but would like to have the luxury to use him off the bench when the rest of the Hornets return with a clean bill of health. That is, of course, if Wright can hone in on his defense. In a recent game against the Clippers, Scott had to bench Wright because he was making too many mistakes on defense.

"It's not lack of trying, but like I told him during one timeout, it's the same thing we've been doing for the two years you've been here, we haven't changed," Scott said. "So he just has to do a better job of understanding."

Wright got a second chance in the second half and came through, finishing with 18 points on 8-for-13 shooting (two points off his career high), nine rebounds, three assists and two steals.

None of the boards was bigger than the one that came on a key sequence late in the game with the Clippers surging. Los Angeles had cut a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to one with less than three minutes remaining when Zach Randolph called for the ball in the low post against David West. Wright recognized that Scott wanted to try to trap in the post, so he left his man out on the perimeter, doubled hard on Randolph and corralled the defensive rebound when the pressure made Randolph force up a whimper of a fadeaway. Wright threw an outlet pass out to Paul, Paul took it coast-to-coast for a layup and the Hornets held on for the road win.

"Late in the game he got much better," Scott said. "That's just something with young players that you have to keep on harping on them to make sure that this is part of the game -- being ready and understanding what you got to do on both ends of the floor."

Wright, selected No. 13 in the 2007 Draft after his freshman season at Kansas University, has been given time to develop that most players picked that high never get.

"I came in as a lottery pick, but I didn't come to a lottery-caliber team that was trying to rebuild," Wright says. "I came into a team that was trying to contend for a top-four seed and get to at least the conference finals."

There's no ego to Wright, who turns 22 in May and is treated like a little brother by his Hornets teammates. His look -- goofy headband pulled down over his ears, knee-high socks on his legs and the league-issued Spalding orange basketball leather toiletries bag that sits in his locker while his teammates have Prada and Louis Vuitton -- needs as much polishing as his game.

But while Wright's former Jayhawks teammate, Brandon Rush, is getting major minutes as a rookie and scoring big numbers as a star draft pick for the 33-44 Pacers, Wright doesn't mind that his role is still limited in his second year playing for a winning ballclub.

"Every game they're not asking me to score 20 points or whatever, or carry the load offensively," Wright says. "Defensively, sometimes I play against smaller players and I have to do a better job of learning how to use my length to my advantage. I think once I get through it defensively, which I'm getting better with playing a lot more minutes, I think I can really help this team in the long run."

Says Scott: "He's come a long way. He still has a long way to go."