"I really can't stay - Baby it's cold outside
I've got to go away - Baby it's cold outside"
('Baby it's cold outside' - F. Loesser)

Toronto, being a northern North American city, is known for having cold winters - not as cold as other cities, such as Winnipeg, Chicago or New York, but cold none the less.

And with the opening few games of the NBA season, it would appear that the winter chill came early to Toronto this year, with the Raptors now tied for last place in their division, and only one loss behind the worst team in the NBA,the Atlanta Hawks. Right now, their only hope of doing much of anything is a weak eastern division - end even then, it's still a race for last place.

The main problem is that Toronto is too new: there are few, many too few, solid veteran players to anchor the youthful players. Toronto has talent - Jalen Rose, Chris Bosh, Charlie Villanueva, for example - but it needs a solid, experienced player (preferably at centre) to lead the way for the team.

Look at the Maple Leafs, Toronto's other major winter team. After their captain Mats Sundin went down with an eye injury in the first period of the first game, the Leafs dropped three games in a row before Eric Lindros, finally looking like himself again, led the Leafs to a series of wins.

This is what the Raptors need: after last season's fiasco with Vince Carter, they need a solid leader to lead them in what will be a strong division... if they don't get one before the season gets rolling, they'll be stuck in limbo towards the bottom of the league.