Toronto Raptors
Any fan who watched all four quarters of Tuesday night’s debacle against the Toronto Raptors deserves an “Authentic Fan” award from the team. It was clear from the jump that the Raptors, who have one of the deepest rotations in the NBA, were a daunting matchup against a depleted 76ers team. Toronto captured the season series against the Sixers, winning 3 of the 4 matchups this year.
The Raptors are a team that has all the pieces you need for a championship run. A superstar in Kawhi Leonard, All-Star Kyle Lowry, veteran pieces who have made championship runs like Danny Green and Serge Ibaka, paired with a deep and talented bench. Simply put, the Raptors are the last team that Philadelphia wants to see in the playoffs this year.
Toronto boasts a roster that can go 11 players deep and not lose much production, which makes them deadly come playoff time. As of now, the Sixers have a rotation that only goes 8- 9 players deep. While that doesn’t seem like a big deal, that weakness gets exposed almost every season in the playoffs. Teams with deep rosters make deep runs.
Although Harris and any pieces we add before the end of the deadline will certainly help our odds if we matchup with Toronto in the playoffs, I am not sure that it will be enough. Toronto is the one team in the East the 76ers need to steer clear of for as long as they can come playoff time