If the Heat want to know why they didn't beat the Warriors on Tuesday night, they don't need to look away from their own locker room.
Dwyane Wade told the Golden State Warriors' Dorell Wright to shoot more and be more selfish. That not only helped the Warriors beat the Heat, but it's going to cause a revival in the team's struggling offense.
According to Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle, Wade told Wright to shoot more to find a groove. Perhaps he should have given that advice after the game, as no Warrior made the amount of clutch shots that Wright made at the end of the game. Still, this is deeper than one game.
The Warriors have struggled to find an offensive rhythm all year. The game against the Heat was the first time they scored 100 points, and overtime was needed for that. But the Warriors also had limited production from Wright. With Wright shooting, space will be cleared for Monta Ellis and when he returns, Stephen Curry to bring in 20 a night with no problem.
If the defenses focus on shutting down Ellis and Curry, then Wright will be there to burn them all night. He's a strong shooter and when he follows Wade's advice, the shooting ability will only get better. Wade said as much himself to Simmons.
He isn't getting his shots. When you're a shooter, and you're getting one shot every 15 minutes, you're out of rhythm.
What's better for the Warriors is that this will also have a tremendous impact on the team, not just Wright's numbers. Through the opening nine games of the season, the Warriors are 3-6, while opponents are averaging just over 97 points a game.
On the one hand, that looks bad. It's 24th in the league. But a season ago, if the Warriors allowed fewer than 100 points a night for the first nine games, their record would look a lot better. It's not this year because they haven't gotten consistent scoring.
With Wright shooting more, that's going to change. Ellis will be freed up to drive to the basket. When he's not, Wright will be sitting at the three-point line to bury the other team all game long.
And it gets better.
Wright shooting more will not only improve the offense, but it won't hurt the defense in doing so. The Warriors have allowed too many points in past years because they don't focus on defense. They were basically focused more on getting a good offensive play than anything else.
That's changing under Mark Jackson, but it's come partially at the expense of the offense.
With Wright shooting, they will have the complete team needed to make a serious run at the playoffs. A 3-6 start can be overcome, and the Western Conference is wide open.
It would also give the Warriors a stable foundation for future years. They would have the complete package of players needed to make the team complete for a long time. And they're still young.
When the Warriors start scoring more points and winning games, they can thank Dwyane Wade for it. His advice to a former teammate is going to be a nice trigger for a better basketball team.
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