5 Reasons why the Toronto Raptors are a legitimate title contender

#4 Defence

The Raptors have done well to add some defensive steel to their play this season. Rookie small forward OG Anunoby, in particular, has done solidly in his role as a primarily defensive stopper. His whopping wingspan of 7'6" has helped him harass most perimeter stars that the Raptors have faced so far - MVP frontrunner James Harden only shot 8-25 when Toronto beat Houston early on in the season with the rookie guarding him.

Toronto has 3 top-20 players in defensive rating (Anunoby, point guard Delon Wright and Pascal Siakam).The whole team has bought into a defensive ideology, which has, in turn, enabled them to become a better team in transition defense - they now give up only 1.03 points per transition opportunity, as compared to 1.31 last season.