The Toronto Raptors will not be NBA Champions this year. It is unfortunate, but that is just the way things are going to be. Their most recent defeat was a 101-83 thrashing at the hands of King James and his Cavaliers, who were missing two players out with the flu, no less.

NBA odds favour Cleveland reach the Eastern Conference Championship, so even if Toronto comes from way behind to sneak into the playoffs, they will not make it past the Cavaliers. Or the Celtics. Or the Magic. They probably would not even have a chance against the Atlanta Hawks, who, even at fourth place in the conference still trail third place Orlando by nine games. So what can be made of this season? There are three things that Toronto needs to do to make sure this does not happen again. Ever.

Play Bargnani. The former first overall draft choice is having what could be considered a breakout season. Give him as many minutes as he can take, and then keep him out there longer. He needs as much experience as he can get in this down year so that he can be a difference-making player in the future (as all first overall picks are expected to be).

Trade Jermaine O’Neal. The experiment is over. While the O’Neal trade was touted as exactly what this franchise needed, unfortunately the Raptors received the O’Neal of 2007, rather than that of 2001. Injuries have slowed him, and he may well never regain his All-Star form. Toronto cannot afford to wait and see if he does, especially with his monster salary on the books.

Get a real head coach. Jay Triano has tried his best, but with an 11-22 record since taking over, he clearly is not getting the job done. Firing Sam Mitchell was a mistake in the first place, but Bryan Colangelo needs to acknowledge that mistake and bring someone in who can shake up the team. Trading O’Neal can hopefully bring in a few new faces and maybe a young prospect, and the new coach needs to be able to take this broken team apart and put it back together properly.

Only time will tell if this year is a mere dip on this team’s rise to dominance or the first step of a long slide into irrelevance. The experience of the front office and this team’s past success suggest that Toronto could have a real championship franchise for the first time in a long while; unfortunately, it just will not be this year.

The writer, Gavin Inkster, consults on basketball odds.

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