"The road became more daunting, the need for someone to come off the bench and step up a lot more urgent.

The news in Raptorland isn't exactly brimming with feel-good stories as the team's plight threatens to get worse just as it was about to board a flight for Washington, D.C., where on Saturday night Toronto begins a five-game road trip that has the earmarks of a death march.

Not to sound the alarm bells, but the Raptors appear to be a run-away train with no end in sight, at least not one that has a happy ending.

Leandro Barbosa, a heart-and-soul guy who gives the Raptors much-needed offence, hurt his hamstring during Friday's visit to the Air Canada Centre by the Detroit Pistons.

He was carried off the floor, unable to put any weight on his leg, his status in doubt at a time when the Raptors desperately require a reserve to elevate their game."