Arguably, the two most momentous playoff series the franchise has ever had involved Philadelphia and serve as matching bookends on the Raptors’ historical arc. First, when the Vince Carter-led Raptors lost in seven games in the second round to Allen Iverson and the Sixers, when Carter’s potentially game-winning three-pointer hit the rim and bounced long in 2001. And the Kawhi Leonard version in 2019, when the ball bounced four times and dropped in, giving the Raptors an epic Game 7 win in the second round and paving the way for a championship a month later.
There was even a first-round series in 2022 when Joel Embiid and Philly took Toronto down in six games in the first round, the high point, it turned out, of the…