How the Toronto Raptor's Antoine Wright Has Disappeared

It can now be officially confirmed; Antoine Wright is deep in Jay Triano’s doghouse!

Even when up by 40 points in the fourth quarter against the New Jersey Nets, Wright could not get minutes in Jay Triano’s rotation.

From the start of preseason, fans have heard Triano wax eloquently about how quickly Antoine Wright had picked up on the Raptors new defensive schemes. Without even seeing Wright in a preseason game, it had become obvious he would be one of the first Raptors off the bench this season.

Many fans and analysts even speculated that Wright should start, to provide the Raptors with a stronger defensive presence in the starting lineup.

But Brothersteve’s blog, The Case for Antoine Wright , did not support these glowing reviews.

Dallas used Wright in limited minutes last season, even when he started. The Raptors best case scenario is likely to do the same. Until Wright can demonstrate that he has improved both his shooting stroke and his turnovers, it will be a challenge for coaches to keep him on the floor for extended periods.

Jay Triano relied on Wright far more than his “success” with Dallas warranted and Wright rewarded Triano by shooting a career low 33.6 percent from the field. Wright making an offensive play could almost be equated with a turnover.

However, the Raptors could probably live with Wright’s less-than-helpful offensive game if he was providing the defense everyone had anticipated. Sadly, he has not.

Wright’s blocks and steals have dropped to his rookie year numbers and his normally poor rebounding hasn’t improved. Wright’s defense has not been good enough to keep him on the floor.

In the past four games, Wright has played a total of 10 minutes of garbage time in the loss to Orlando. And that was on the second night of a back-to-back.

The beneficiary of this Raptors change of heart has been Sonny Weems. Where Wright is a below-the-rim defensive specialist. Sonny Weems is an athlete.

“Sonny Weems, the high-flying senior from Arkansas is probably best known from the U-Tube video clips of him winning the college slam dunk contest.  He definitely does have some hops and can flush the ball with authority.”

But perhaps more important at this stage of his career is his ability to out-hustle his opponent.

And as long as Weems continues to out-hustle the opposition, Wright’s stay in the Raptors doghouse could be indefinite.