After promising season, expectations for upstart Raptors only rise from here

In the end, the Toronto Raptors dug themselves into too deep a hole.

For three days between Games 5 and 6, momentum seemed firmly on the side of the Raptors becoming the first NBA team to come back from a 3-0 series deficit.

Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers was getting defensive over his spotty playoff record, MVP finalist Joel Embiid was questioning co-star James Harden's aggressiveness, and the plucky Raptors were one home win away from forcing Game 7.

It, rather emphatically, didn't happen. The 76ers ran away from the Raptors in the third quarter of Game 6 en route to a 132-97 victory. Embiid recorded 33 points and 12 rebounds, while Harden enjoyed his best game of the series with 22 points and 15 assists.

WATCH | 76ers throttle Raptors in Game 6:

Even still, it's tough not to view the Raptors season as a success.

Pascal Siakam regained the form that made him an all-NBA second-team forward prior to the pandemic. Fred VanVleet made his first all-star team. Fourth overall pick Scottie Barnes won rookie of the year, exceeding even the most optimistic projections.

The Raptors' win total was set at 35.5 by multiple sportsbooks before the season; they finished with 48.

By nearly any measure, Toronto beat expectations in its return home following last year's so-called "Tampa Tank," when the team spent the season playing in Florida due to pandemic restrictions and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2013.

The 2021-22 season, in some ways, marked the beginning of a new era of Raptors basketball.

Harden called the first-round series one of the "toughest" he's played in.

"Just because of their switching, athleticism, length," he explained. "They throw different defences at you, box-and-ones and zones and mess up the game. Credit to Nick Nurse, they're a resilient team."

Siakam, VanVleet and OG Anunoby are key holdovers from the 2019 title team who have all grown into essential roles with the new iteration of Raptors. We already know they can form the nucleus of a champion, especially with head coach Nick Nurse still at the helm.

Still, it's Barnes who will ultimately determine the team's direction.