Perhaps the Toronto Raptors' biggest advantage over the Philadelphia 76ers coming into the second round of the playoffs was their supposedly superior depth.
In Serge Ibaka, Fred Van Vleet, and Norman Powell, the Raptors have three players who haven't only started games for them in the past, but also boast a wealth of playoff experience. The Sixers' bench, by contrast, is being led by James Ennis and Mike Scott, the former of whom was dumped by the Houston Rockets at the trade deadline for marginal draft considerations and the latter of whom played a smaller role for the Los Angeles Clippers at the beginning of the season than he currently does for Philadelphia.
The expectation that the Raptors' bench would play a major factor in this series has actually come to fruition, but not in the way anyone anticipated.
The widespread struggles of Toronto's reserves continued in the Sixers' season-saving Game 6 victory, as Ibaka was the only bench player to score before garbage time on Thursday night. His ninth and final point came with four minutes and 24 seconds left in the second quarter. Van Vleet, Powell, Malcolm Miller, and Jodie Meeks combined for 14 points in the game's last three minutes and 33 seconds, after Nick Nurse waived the white towel of defeat.
Philadelphia, meanwhile, received two more strong performances from Ennis and Scott. They combined for 16 points, 12 rebounds, and five assists on 6-of-11 shooting. Scott missed just one of his four three-point attempts.
There are an almost endless amount of facets that could decide Game 7. If prior trends hold, though, don't count on the Raptors' bench propelling them to victory on Sunday at Scotiabank Arena.
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