Toronto Raptors: On the cusp of their first NBA Finals appearance

Thanks to a huge Game 5 win on the road, the Toronto Raptors are one win away from clinching their first trip to the NBA Finals

When the Toronto Raptors traded DeMar DeRozan, who had been the face of their franchise every since Chris Bosh left south, for Kawhi Leonard, many questioned whether this was too rash of a move for essentially one year of potential greatness.

However, after a huge Game 5 victory on the road against the Milwaukee Bucks, Kawhi and the Raptors are now just one win away from their first NBA Finals appearance. To say that the risk has worked out would be an understatement. At the same time, to simply say that Kawhi is the sole reason why the Raptors are on the cusp of finally breaking through in the Eastern Conference would also be a mistake.

Specifically, in Game 5, the Raptors aren’t in this scenario without the excellent play of Fred VanVleet, who hit an amazing seven 3’s on the road – something that you generally don’t see from a bench player, especially not on the road.

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The Raptors wouldn’t be here without Pascal Siakam, who has been outstanding this season, and his 18 points and seven rebounds in the postseason. Both Danny Green and Kyle Lowry have been up and down throughout the playoffs, but Toronto has gotten key production in key spots from each of them too.

Who’s to say if the Raptors would still be in this position had LeBron James elected to re-sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers, but that is an unknown that shouldn’t be weighed. He made a decision and there’s really no point in looking back at it.

Kawhi, though, has been everything the Raptors hoped he’d be. Kawhi had somewhat of an underwhelming Game 4, in which he only scored 19 points on 6-13 shooting, but bounced back in a big way on the road – when the Raptors needed him most.

In Game 5, Kawhi scored 35 points dished out nine assists and grabbed seven rebounds as he led the Raptors to a huge road win – the type of victories that championship teams are able to pull off.

All of a sudden, after not many pundits really took this team seriously throughout their impressive regular season and first two rounds of the playoffs, the Raptors are now one win at home away from facing the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals – a scenario that not many expected to come to fruition after the Bucks took the first two games of the Eastern Conference Finals.

Next. New York Knicks: Why Kemba Walker is the right fit. dark

Win a trip to the NBA Finals on the line, the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto is going to be rocking in Game 6. Will the Raptors make history?

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