<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">OKLAHOMA CITY -- It was almost as if the game froze. All eyes seemingly focused on Lorenzen Wright as he caught the basketball under the rim. The Grizzlies' veteran center gathered himself and attempted a layup that fell short. Wright, though, exploded through a towering interior defense to reclaim the rebound. He sprung again toward the hoop -- this time leaving no doubt as to what would happen. Layup. Scream. Eruption from the Grizzlies' bench. As Wright high-stepped downcourt, his teammates clearly appreciated the effort and perhaps were thinking of what retired Grizzlies coach Hubie Brown might have said. Now that's working! Nothing seemed to work for Wright until he went to the bench for an extended period and then recently re-joined the starting lineup because of Jake Tsakalidis' sprained left thumb. And while five games does not a season make, the past couple of weeks certainly make up for lost time in Wright's case. From those who he's fighting alongside to make a playoff run to a new agent who will be charged with securing a free-agent contract this summer, the hope is whatever is going well with Wright remains that way. "He started answering the bell for us," said Griz coach Mike Fratello, who is again counting on Wright to be a force in the middle with the team playing against the playoff hungry New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets. "Ren realized that if we're going to continue to try and make a run here we need someone to step up in that spot. Jake's done a really good job for us. Now, Ren's done a really good job for us." Minus an average night Wednesday at New Jersey where nearly every Griz fell flat in a second straight loss, Wright's played inspired basketball of late. He's averaged 9.2 points and eight rebounds over the past five games, including an outing against Seattle on Tuesday when he grabbed 14 rebounds in 29 minutes, and a game against Charlotte last Sunday when he snared seven boards in 16 minutes. While some fans seem to have easily forgotten, hardly anyone internally experiences amnesia when it comes to what Wright can do. His teammates sound as though they've awaited this return for months, too. "We know what he's about. He's been so important to our organization the last couple of years that you want to see a guy you've been through the fire with do well," forward Shane Battier said. "Jake's turned up his play. And Lorenzen has done a great job of filling in for Jake. Hopefully he gets a contract here or somewhere next year. He's meant a lot to this organization the last five years." Perhaps Wright's biggest fan is the guy who took away the starting job. To some degree, Tsakalidis knows exactly what Wright went through in terms of struggling on the court and having his role diminished. Tsakalidis had been rendered almost useless for most of the past two seasons. "I like the way he's finishing around the basket," Tsakalidis said of Wright. "Sometimes it's not physical problems. Sometimes you get down mentally. With Lorenzen, the last month he's played like he knows what he has to do. He doesn't worry if something goes wrong on the court. He's just playing." Whether Tsakalidis' emergence pushed Wright or not is debatable. This is certain: Tsakalidis consistently took pressure off forward Pau Gasol by moving to the correct spot on the court at the precise time on offense. Tsakalidis provided solid interior defense, rebounded with fervor and scored when left alone -- all the qualities Wright needs to bring to the court. "Every time he's as active on the boards as he was (last Sunday and Tuesday) it makes a difference," Gasol said. "The way he fought (last Sunday against Charlotte) was great. Now, let's see if he can keep doing it. We need him playing well in the playoffs whether he starts or comes off the bench." </div> Source
