Toronto Raptors: Some mind-bending numbers from Toronto’s 15-game win streak

Toronto has averaged 10.8 steals per game during its win streak

It’s no secret that Toronto’s success this season has come because of defence – the Raptors lost arguably the league’s best one-on-one defender this past offseason, but their team defence remains among the league’s best. Don’t believe me? Consult the numbers, and you’ll soon see what I’m preaching is undeniably true.

Rebounding remains a minor concern, though, Gasol’s return should help in that area. This team is never going to be an elite rebounding team, but one way to make up for a lack of rebounding is to rack up steals. Toronto has done just that, averaging double-digit takeaways during its 15-game win streak. Since Jan. 12, the dinos lead the league in steals per game (10.8). Chicago, with 9.7 steals a night, is second.

Another factor contributing to Toronto’s success the past 15 games has been its defence in clutch-time scenarios (less than five minutes remaining in a game where the point difference is five or less). In 21 clutch minutes, Toronto’s defence has forced opposing teams to turn the ball over 20.5 percent of the time, highest in the league.

Toronto, meanwhile, only has turned the ball on 3.8 percent of clutch possessions.

As prolific as the Raptors’ offence has been since mid-January, their defence has been equally if not more impressive. Winning a title last year instilled good habits in many of Toronto’s players – there will be times when, for whatever reason, shots aren’t falling. The key to winning is not allowing periods of offensive ineptitude, which are inevitable, to negatively impact effort levels on defence.

Over the last month, the Toronto Raptors have done a perfect job separating the two.