Lord of the Flies anyone?

"Kill the pig! Cut his throat! Kill the pig! Bash him in!"

Is it just me or have the Raptors "faithful" quickly become an angry mob thirsting for the blood of Sam Mitchell? It risks escalating to the level of frenzy if they rack up a loss tomorrow against the mighty Bobcats.

The team has gotten off to a disapointing 6-7 start to the year and have a west coast road trip looming later this week. In other words, the possibility to sink further below .500 is not only a possibility - it's likely.

The question is....should we blame Sam Mitchell?

I believe the answer (after much hesitation) is "not really."

Looking at the facts, the Raps have lost a game due to a Calderon injury and the last couple meltdowns have been directly related to Jermaine O'Neal's knee issues.

With two of the big three injured the Raps have struggled to find consistency on offense without their point guard and the defense has completely fallen apart without O'Neal patrolling the paint. What you are left with is an inconsistent Bargs and Bosh trying to play Superman. Are these the ingredients of a winning team? Not bloody likely.

So lets say hypothetically that Colangelo fires Smitch and brings in Van Gundy or Flip Saunders, the question then becomes, can they win? With a debilitated O'Neal, Calderon unable to contain dribble penetration and a shooting guard/small forward rotation that is clearly the worst in the NBA, my hypothesis would be a resounding "hell no!"

I'm not saying he won't lose his job, because there is a good chance he will be slaughtered. The Raps fans smell blood and with the Leafs making trades and likely hiring Burke there is undeniable pressure on Raptorland to look progressive. Colangelo may need a sacrificial lamb to persuade them he is trying to improve things. But lets get one thing straight, in spite of all of Smitch's faults as a strategist, I highly doubt even the Zenmaster Phil Jackson could make lemonade out of this current roster of chihuahua piss.

Kill the pig if you wish - but realize that the logic of the mob could lead things to continue to go south in spite of the change. Will Colangelo risk to change the coach and potentially expose his naked roster for what it really is? It shall be interesting to see...