Miami Heat

MIAMI (AP) ― Dorell Wright has spent countless hours working out with Dwyane Wade, learning all he can from the reigning NBA finals MVP. All that work was done with the hope of getting Wright some regular minutes with the Miami Heat.

And, somewhat accidentally, Wade might have given Wright his long-awaited chance.

It happened Friday night, not even 51/2 minutes into the Heat's game with the New Jersey Nets. Wade went for a steal 40 feet from the basket, fouling the Nets' Jason Collins in the process. That was Wade's second foul, so Heat coach Pat Riley peered down his bench, looking for someone to sub in and called Wright's name.

The youngster -- he doesn't turn 21 until next month -- could barely contain a smile as he trotted to the scorer's table and entered the game.

"When I'm over there on that bench, I'm staying ready," Wright said. "I was just happy I got the opportunity to get out there."

His final numbers -- two points, five rebounds, one assist and one steal in 16 minutes -- didn't seem to be a contributing factor in Miami's 91-85 win. But he defended solidly, pushed the tempo when he had opportunities and got good reviews from teammates afterward.

"He's been practicing good and been playing well and he's building his confidence up," said Heat center Shaquille O'Neal, who had 21 points in Friday's victory. "He just has to keep playing hard."

There should be ample opportunity for minutes for Wright, too.

He and shooting guard Jason Kapono -- neither played much in Miami's season-opening loss to Chicago -- combined to play nearly 31 minutes Friday night as the Heat's reserve guards, spelling Wade and Gary Payton. Miami has been looking for the right guard mix since camp began, largely because starting point guard Jason Williams is expected to miss at least a couple more weeks while he recovers from offseason knee surgery.

Miami made a run at signing Jalen Rose, who could have played both guard spots and even small forward for the Heat, but lost out on him Friday afternoon when the veteran announced he was signing with Phoenix. Hours later, and probably not coincidentally, Wright was getting the rare thrill of meaningful minutes in a meaningful game.

"Dorell gets rebounds in batches," Riley said. "He will challenge shots at the rim. He's really long. And rebounding might be one of the best parts of his game. He'll take the shot. I thought he played pretty well."

Riley said the backcourt rotation isn't exactly iron-clad yet.

Neither Wright nor Kapono is a point guard, meaning the 38-year-old Payton will keep playing big minutes; he was on the floor for all but 7:16 of Friday's game, and will likely log another high number Sunday when the Heat open their road schedule in Philadelphia.

"Gary's sort of just got to bite the bullet here and play a little longer minutes until I can figure this out," Riley said.

And when Riley figures it all out, Wright simply hopes to remain part of his thinking.

Wright made 18 appearances last season, mostly toward the end of already-decided games, before averaging 19.5 points while starting the final two games of the 2005-06 regular season -- matchups where the Heat rested many regulars.

Still, he's shown flashes of great promise, and has wanted a shot desperately. This time, maybe, just maybe, it's going to happen.

"I've been working on this two years," Wright said. "When I first came here, 18 years old, I was just trying to force
everything. I was just too excited about everything. But now I'm calm. I go out there and just play the game."

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