Eve Of Trade Deadline: Raps vs Nets

A lot of eyes will be on this game and it may have nothing to do with the Raptors and Nets playing a basketball game. It will have everything to do with the fact that speculation is that Dwight Howard will be the first free agent signing of the Brooklyn Nets if you believe the news. So that might force the Magic to make a move with the Nets or someone else to get something now for Dwight Howard. So people maybe watching this game to see who is not playing more than who is. Deron Williams and Jose Calderon both won't be but that is due to injuries. In terms of the Raptors and the trade deadline the key player to watch would be Barbosa. If he is not playing tonight you can almost guarantee he will be on the move.

In terms of the game itself the Raptors will have a decent shot at winning two in a row with no Deron Williams to deal with. If the Nets are truly looking to make the big splash for Howard who knows who else may not be playing. It could be a very easy win for the Raptors depending on who actually shows up for the Nets.

The Raptors with the win last night exceeded their win total on the road for an entire season last year with only 6 wins. It seems the Raptors are on pace to win the 20 games we predicted in the Dino Nation Blog if not a few more. Andrea Bargnani has looked better and better with each game in his return to the line up which is a positive sign both short and long term.

Raptors will be off tomorrow and in Memphis on Friday. If you expect to see them look much different I would suggest not to hold your breath. Colangelo has shown some out of character patience in sticking to the plan. So it is unlikely he loses his senses at this point.