Antoine Wright’s first 42 games as a Toronto Raptor have been a wild roller coaster ride.

Training camp didn’t unfold like he envisioned after an injury to his knee limited him to one preseason game and 17.7 minutes of burn during November.

Then, after venting to the media in December, Wright found himself in his coaches doghouse and piled up six DNP-CD’s in the 15 games Toronto played.

Clearly not the way he wanted to start his playing career in Toronto.

Over the past four games Wright has started to find his rhythm while averaging 22.8 minutes of burn. While his scoring average during that stretch isn’t impressive (7.0 points per game over that stretch) his role in Toronto was never meant to be someone who provided instant offense off the bench.

Heading into the season he was heralded as gritty defender and rebounder which is a role he is now starting to fulfill.

“It feels good and I feel as healthy as I’ve been all year,” Wright admitted to Hoops Addict after a big win against Milwaukee. “I’ve been having good practices and proving I belong on the court. Now while I’m out there I’m just trying to contribute.”

Last night Wright grabbed the opportunity to contribute when Jay Triano elected to play small ball and he led the team in rebounds (8).

Throw in the fact he was the first player off the bench for the team and it’s looking like the veteran wing is finally finding himself in a groove playing for Toronto.

“We went small and coach was emphasizing to me that he would be needing me to get in there to rebound and be a force on the boards,” Wright explained to me after the game. “Milwaukee did a good job against us in our last game of getting second and third chance shots. We held them to a low shooting percentage but they did a pretty good job of offensive rebounding.”

Snagging eight rebounds and being the first player off the bench is two things that stand out, but the other aspect of his game doesn’t show up on the stat sheet: grit.

Luckily for Raptors’ fans Wright plays with a ton of it.

“Antoine is a hard working dude and a real gritty guy,” Jack boasted to Hoops Addict. “He and I are kind of the same in demeanor in far as the way we go out and we play. We don’t care who we’re playing or who we’re matched up against. We’re going to give you everything we’ve got and you know what to expect from us night in and night out.  We might not have a perfect line. We might not have a perfect game. But when we get on the court we’re going to give you everything we’ve got.

“I love it when he’s out there on the court because when I look to my left or right I know Antoine Wright is going to be there baring down and playing just as hard as I am.”

A consistent role with your team and respect from your teammates is what any player strives for.

While other players like DeMar DeRozan, Marco Belinelli and Sonny Weems find themselves on highlight reels for their flashy plays, it will be the steady presence on the defensive end by Wright that will continue to earn him minutes this season. Throw in some crucial rebounding and it’s clear there’s a big need for what he can provide off the bench for Toronto.

If Wright is able to sustain his strong play of late over the remainder of the season it appears his roller coaster ride of a season will be able to stabilize itself.

Finally.