The NBA Championship Will Be Going North
After years of disappointment, the Toronto Raptors are armed and ready to end the year with the Larry O’Brien Tropy in their “claws.”
Over the past four years the Raptors have had championship level records during the regular season. They have won 48 games or more during that time and consisently seeded in top 1 or 2 of the Eastern Conference standings. But over those years whenever the calendar hit June, their style of play goes extinct.
That was then, this is now. These 2019 Raptors are a whole different team. They have a great bench, defensively sound and have the ulimtate weapon going into the playoff this year; Kawhi Leonard.
Raptors bench has put up 41.2 points a game, that’s good for first in the Eastern Conference. In addition, they added Jeremy Lin and Marc Gasol, these two are not only skilled talented players, but also have extensive playoff experience.
Defense is an area in which the Raptors are the most improved in. It shows with their deff(deffense efficeny rating) being top three in the league. It is with this they are able not only able to limit what great players do individually, but also do it in a matter which is most efficient.
The defensive style in which the Raptors play is zone. With the help of tall and atheletic players such as Pascal Siakam and Serge Ilbaka, they are able to defesnively stop the pick and roll and high ball screens.
Lastly and the most important reason why the Raptors will win the championship this year, is because of one man and one man only Kawhi Leonard.
After a tumultuous 2018 season, Leonard has been on a mission to reestablish himself as one of the best players in the league. Last year, everything from his determination to his playing ability was question by everyone in the league. Taking the Raptors to the Finals would not only silence everyone, but it will also make him a highly prized free agent going into free agency this year.
With Leonard on the floor, they have a player who not only can make his own shot, but also lock up the opponents best offensive weapon. With his lanky build his able defened anyone from Stephen Curry to Anthony Davis.
In addition with Leonard, they don’t just have a closer, but also have a player who knows how to win championships. In 2014, Leonard led the Spurs to a Finals win when they defeated LeBron James and the Miami Heat. Leonard won the Finals MVP trophy and put the league on notice.
For the Raptor to escape fear of early extinction they are going to need a tremendous amount of focus and determaintion. But if done right, along with Lenoard’s repeating his 2014 Finals performance, the Raptors can change what was once a fantasy into a reality.
