Philadelphia 76ers: 4 things to watch vs. Toronto Raptors in Game 3

4.  When does Toronto’s supporting cast show up?

Toronto’s depth has been a strength since the season started. When healthy, they were capable of playing 10-12 players a night. You don’t earn the second seed and come close to 60 regular season wins without having top-to-bottom contributors. The first two games of the series haven’t mirrored Toronto’s regular season recipe for success.

It’s obvious who needs to play well for Toronto. Kawhi Leonard, Pascal Siakam, and Kyle Lowry can be a lethal trio. They can all heavily influence games on both sides of the ball, and practically single-handedly win games. Thus far all three have shown up in their respective roles, but not much can be said for the other Raptors.

Through the first two games, Siakam, Lowry, and Leonard are the only Raptors to score in double figures. Marc Gasol and Danny Green only had eight combined points in Game 2. The Toronto bench put forth a whopping five points in Game 2. In Toronto’s convincing Game 1 victory, the box score looked similar. Fred VanVleet and Serge Ibaka were the lone scorers of the Raptors’ 10 bench points. Even with Kawhi’s Game 1 domination and the Sixers’ Game 2 victory, the Sixers should be grateful they haven’t been burned by any of the secondary scorers.

Danny Green will probably get his fair share of outside shots at some point, but J.J. Redick‘s recent defense may hinder him. Redick was the primary defender for Brooklyn sharpshooter Joe Harris and Harris shot 19 percent from deep in the first round. Solving Redick’s perimeter defense  could be the key to Toronto’s offense reaching a higher level.

Gasol will most likely be guarded by Tobias Harris for the remainder of the series. Harris is an average post defender, but Gasol has a definite size advantage. Gasol has established himself as a crafty scorer, but has only reached double digits once this postseason, and in less than half of his regular season appearances with the Raptors.

On a team with three All-Star talents, Gasol will rarely be the offensive focal point. The Sixers have their three best defenders divided among Siakam, Leonard and Lowry. If Gasol takes shots away from any of Toronto’s three best scorers by trying to bowl over Tobias Harris, I doubt Brett Brown would complain.

As for the bench unit, Fred VanVleet is the scorer I think will find his stride and start scoring more frequently. He’s nearly a 40 percent three-point shooter for his career, and it’s not a Sixers playoff series until someone goes unconscious from downtown.

Don’t expect any changes from how the Sixers handle the Raptors non-stars until they force Brett Brown to adjust.