BRANDAN WRIGHT one of the fastest rising stars in the basketball scene.
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Warriors' Wright heads in right direction
In his season of firsts, Brandan Wright made sure that his first shot attempt at Oracle Arena would be a good one. As the Warriors went through their morning shootaround before Sunday's home exhibition opener, the rookie got in line and simply eased in a layup. No sense getting off to a bad start. "It's my new home, you know? Got to get used to it," Brandan Wright said. The youngest Warrior got his first official basket about 10 hours later, and sure enough, it came on a layup. Fellow rookie Marco Belinelli hit Brandan Wright in stride for the breakaway basket late in the third quarter, and the 6-foot-11 power forward did the rest. Brandan Wright finished with six points and two rebounds in 13 minutes, which was about as efficient as it got for the Warriors in a ragged 99-89 loss to the Clippers, and his task for the season is clear. "Keep getting better," coach Don Nelson said. "That's what we'll be saying all year." Brandan Wright, the eighth overall pick and the Warriors' main prize from the Jason Richardson trade, has earned Nelson's praise for improving every day during training camp. The 20-year-old debuted Thursday in Hawaii and simultaneously received his first start. Playing mostly alongside Patrick O'Bryant, Matt Barnes, Kelenna Azubuike and Stephen Jackson, Brandan Wright finished with four points and four rebounds in 17 minutes. As expected, there were highs and lows: Lakers forward Ronny Turiaf twirled him around for a three-point play early, but Brandan Wright came back and muscled in a shot over Turiaf. He was active the entire time and also had a nice alley-oop pass to Azubuike in the fourth quarter. Considering that it was Brandan Wright's first game action since North Carolina was knocked out of the NCAA Tournament - he missed the summer league to rest a sore hip - the Warriors will take it. "I did some all right things, did some bad things, but it was nice to go out there and kind of be able to have some fun," Brandan Wright said. Nelson said that Brandan Wright "looked like a rookie to me" and was in his ear nearly every time Brandan Wright was out of position or missed a defensive assignment. Brandan Wright said the main lesson was consistency - to make sure that he didn't follow a good play with a bad play. And not only did the Warriors' projected power forward of the future welcome the in-game critiques, Brandan Wright also said he would have no problem if Nelson decided to send him to the NBA Development League for grooming this season. "You've got to earn your way," Brandan Wright said. "It's going to be cool because (Nelson) is definitely going to call our number and he definitely wants us to be ready when he does call our number, so getting that playing experience is definitely worth it." Injury update: A Warriors spokesman said guard Monta Ellis (sprained neck) has received medical clearance to play and that it is now up to Ellis to decide on his return date. Ellis, who experienced tingling in his arms after a scary collision with Brandan Wright in Hawaii, declined to answer questions. ... Andris Biedrins (sprained toe), Mickael Pietrus (strained back) and Stephane Lasme (sprained ankle) also did not play Sunday. Lasme is expected to miss at least a week.
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