So, this is the way it ends. Not with a bang, but a whimper.

Apologies to T.S. Eliot for swiping the line, but you have to admit, those words sure seem appropriate when watching the Toronto Raptors these days.

This Raptors era has been a surprising, unexpected at times soul crushing, at others, enthralling ride. What was supposed to be a teardown commencing at the end of 2013 (when Rudy Gay was traded, Kyle Lowry was all but dealt and DeMar DeRozan would have been sent elsewhere after that in an effort to start a long rebuild) blossomed into the most successful period in franchise history.

Here is where the true believers and eternal optimists can stop reading.

It's over. President Masai Ujiri has a number of options moving forward, but he and his staff are smart. They know realistically that LeBron James is not going to slow down. He never has shown any signs of being mortal. So they must know that topping the Cleveland Cavaliers isn't going to happen. Ujiri nobly tried to build up the roster to take a shot at it when Kevin Love got hurt and the Cavs looked like a defensive group that had no clue what it was doing, but it was all a ruse. The defending champions haven't lost a post-season game since falling behind Golden State 3-1. James is playing at a level perhaps only Michael Jordan has reached (he has shot 17-for-35 on three-pointers in the playoffs and 82% from the line, allegedly his only weakness, against the Raptors, in addition to everything else he does better than anybody else).

Here is the reality of the situation:

DeMar DeRozan is a great regular season player who is rendered hit or miss in the post-season. To succeed in the playoffs with DeRozan the featured act would mean surrounding him with a cadre of elite three-and-D (three-point-making, defensive stoppers) to make up for his faults.

Kyle Lowry is 31 and will be seeking a contract that pays him around $30 million a season for five more years in a league filled with younger, more athletic point guards that he won't be able to keep up with. Lowry is the second-best Raptor and has been one of the NBA's top 15 players over the past three seasons, but time is not on his side. He's been hurt every year come playoff time and nobody thinks he will remain dominant for five more seasons. As great as he is, that deal is too big of a gamble.

Serge Ibaka was brought in to be the difference but instead has lost his jumper after leading all high usage NBA big men in three-point percentage after joining the Raptors. He's also looked timid against the Cavs and has not been the defender he once was. Ibaka shares Lowry's agent, will be seeking $20-25 million a year on a long-term deal of his own and has publicly made comments about Toronto's weather and traffic that don't make it sound like he loves it here.

Ibaka is a great fit in today's NBA, but is he a great fit here?

The Raptors also have a centre in Jonas Valanciunas who is a liability in this current NBA landscape because he doesn't stretch the floor and, more importantly, can't defend teams that do have big men who are strong in that regard.

They have DeMarre Carroll, who has been robbed of just about everything he brought to the table in Atlanta and Utah due to the ravages of past injuries.

They have a head coach in Dwane Casey who has overseen a group that never wins the opening game, is always on its heels trying to figure out what to do. Players play and coaches coach, and Casey is by far the best bench boss in team history and isn't the reason everyone is missing open shots or have not been anywhere close to physical enough, but he has not punished his stars enough by sitting them when they don't give an honest effort defensively; He has never presided over a team that appeared more confident than its opponent, even though the Raptors often have been the favoured team and he made some large tactical errors in Game 3 (sitting his only three offensive producers at the same time to start the fourth, not stopping Cleveland's runs, being the two most glaring).

The Raptors also have Patrick Patterson (who has become a ghost) and P.J. Tucker (a useful player who has forgotten how to shoot and who will also be up for a big new contract) about to enter unrestricted free agency.

Why would ownership go deep into the luxury tax for this flawed group knowing that James doesn't respect them and that they have no chance of taking the next step?

One suspects they won't.