6 keys in Toronto’s rise in NBA

By OSCAR TAN III FOR the first time in franchise history, the Toronto Raptors are NBA champions. They accomplished this by outplaying a tremendous dynasty in the Golden State Warriors. In honor of the city of Toronto, which is coined as “The Six,” here are the six areas that led the Raptors to victory:

1) HEALTH. Throughout the playoffs, the Raptors have managed to stay healthy. Both their starting five and bench, have played at their highest levels— and that is extremely necessary to succeed in the long grind. It goes without saying, though, that the Warriors have been on the unlucky side of injuries this year.

2) DEFENSE. Looking at the stats, there may not be an obvious indication that Toronto played great defense on Golden State. The Warriors eclipsed the century mark in all games but Game 4; and the Raptors even allowed a 47-point outburst by Stephen Curry in Game 3. However, they did just what was needed. Overall, they held Curry to only 41 percent from the field, and 34 percent from the three-point area. As a team, Golden State shot only 38 percent from the arc. For a team that is universally acclaimed for its threepoint shooting, Toronto did a great job in stopping that.

3) ROAD WINS. Many analysts say that “in order to win a series, you have to win on the road.” The Raptors did just that, making sure that the raucous fans of the “Roaracle” in

his 35-point outburst against Syracuse in January.

And this draft could have enormous, long-term implications for New Orleans even beyond the addition of Williamson because of the bounty of first-round draft choices the Pelicans are to receive from the Los Angeles Lakers as part of the Davis deal .