One of the advantages that the Toronto Raptors were supposed to have over the Philadelphia 76ers in their first-round matchup were their role players. In fact, when you compare the two teams side-by-side on paper, the Sixers were supposed to have a clear advantage in their star players 1-through-3, while the Raptors had the advantage 3-through-8, with several two-way players to match up against the Sixers’ one-dimensional bench.
Only the games don’t happen on paper. They happen on the court. And any number of factors can take away that supposed advantage in a hurry, which is exactly what has happened to the Raptors in this series.