Raptors Washington Summit

How bad are things for the Raptors? Bad enough to have a meeting with all hands on deck as B.C had a meeting with players and coaching staff in Washington. The Fan 590 is reporting you could see up to 3 changes to the Raptors starting line-up. Safe to assume the Franchise player Chris Bosh will not be gone and it is hard to imagine that Hedo Turkoglu the Raps big free agent signing will be sent to the bench as well. So by process of elimination that means Bargnani, DeRozan and Calderon all seem to be on the hot seat. Triano has suggested there can be as many as 3 changes and safe to say those are the guys that would be out. So who is in? It seems clear that Jack and Amir Johnson would be in if Jose and Bargs are out. Who would replace Demar DeRozan might be up to some debate. Antonie Wright has battled injuries and not exactly shook up the world with his performance. That being said on the defensive end of things he would be the best choice. If not him the other likely option would be Marco Belinelli that has been up and down. However if Bargnani is to go to the bench it may make sense to leave Marco there with him.

One thing is for sure it makes checking out tonight's game a lot more interesting. This team has lost 5 in a row and this seems to be a real point in which the future of what this season will be is on the line. It would have been great to be a fly on the wall in that meeting today. You have to feel Bryan Colangelo is beyond disappointed in the effort he has seen from the team he built. Given the comments of Jarrett Jack it seems clear that this team has some internal issues to get solved. A major shake up to the line-up may seem like a desperate move. However does anyone think this team is not in a desperate state? You can be sure this meeting today was not to plan the Raptors Christmas Party. It also would not be likely that Colangelo would want to fire Triano at this stage. In terms of trades it is very early for that. Also you have to figure every conversation would begin with asking about Chris Bosh is on the table. I think that Colangelo only sees a Bosh trade as a last resort. So the only tool that makes sense is to use that of the starting line-up and minutes in general. If this doesn't work there is really going to be some problems.

The Raptors really are walking a dangerous line as it seems clear that if things don't change. You would have to be concerned if Chris Bosh losses his desire and passion in the last year of his deal. After all of the losing and false hope he has had over the years. It has to get to you after awhile or you are not human. Since the incident in Boston there has been a noticeable change in Chris and I think it makes total sense. Perhaps this meeting help solve that issue. This team really has to come together and fast. They are falling apart on the floor on a nightly basis and for anyone with any sense of pride that has to be just awful.

It is not to late to save this season from going down the drain. When you play in the Eastern Conference you get a long rope to avoid hanging yourself. When you lose 5 games in a row in the West it has more deadly consequences. The Raps with every loss go further behind the .500 mark and climbing back to that level is far more difficult. There needs to be a sense of urgency with this basketball team and if a meeting with your G.M and shake-up to the starting line-up is not a clear message to that not sure what will at this point.

So needless to say tonight's match-up with the Wizards offers lots of drama and interest. If we do not see a more improved effort and team on the floor it may just be the start of darker days to come. The Raptors need to come together and show some fight. Something that was clearly lacking in Atlanta and has been on many nights in this season. This team will come together or it is going to explode apart. There will be no happy medium for the Raptors given all the factors that surround this team. The largest of those being the future of the star player in Chris Bosh. It is never easy to head into a season with a team's key player in the last year of a deal. When losing happens it can cause even more drama as a result. When you win as they have in Cleveland and Miami the story of 2010 gets shoved to the back burner. However when you don't it is the elephant in the room.

Heck it hasn't even been easy for me. I had my computer give up on me. That is a major crisis for the Dino Nation Blog and the way I am trying to make a living. So I have had to make some changes as well with a computer screen on the IR. However I have come up with a fix to keep the DNB up and running. Looking to draft a new star in the new year on the computer front but till that time I will grind it out. The only time the DNB shut down was for 3 weeks or so when my computer before this one broke down. I am always willing to work hard it is just the technical things that do not always co-operate. So I am just happy to be still able to be in the game so to speak. Thanks for all the comments yesterday. As a result of the computer meltdown it took me till late last night to get them posted.