The Toronto Raptors aren't necessarily a team that you'd look at right now and say has a good chance of winning an NBA championship. However, given the way this team defends, they are unquestionably a title contender.

The Raptors are a strange team; they have games when they defeat teams like the Milwaukee Bucks and other championship-caliber teams. They also play games where they lose against a team that has no right to be on the same court as them. However, given they have beaten several high-level teams this year, like the Bucks, Utah Jazz, Miami Heat, Golden State Warriors, and other championship-caliber teams, you must give it to them and appreciate what they're doing.

To win an NBA championship, Toronto will have to get through a very difficult schedule. It won't be easy going up against the Milwaukee Bucks, Miami Heat, Philadelphia 76ers, Chicago Bulls, or the new-look Brooklyn Nets. This squad becomes more involved for championship-caliber opponents, and they play a different brand of basketball when they know they're facing one of the best teams in the NBA, based on what they've demonstrated this year.

Let's look at three reasons why the Toronto Raptors, while not playing its best basketball in the first half of the season, may make it out of the Eastern Conference.

Winning an NBA title is never easy. As we have seen with the past 20 champions, every team is going to need something significant to go their way. Whether that is an unfortunate injury to someone, or having guys on the roster step up more than they ever have. There is a reason why winning a championship is so hard, and a reason why we have seen crazy upsets in the past. If a team is going to win a title, they’re going to need everyone on their roster to be playing the best basketball they possibly can, and even sometimes that isn’t enough to get the job done.

*Watch NBA games LIVE with fuboTV (click for free trial)*

Raptors Eastern Conference

3. Nick Nurse

Nick Nurse, probably the best defensive coach in the NBA, is one of the reasons why the Toronto Raptors have been so successful in recent seasons. The types of game plans he creates for certain individuals on rival teams are fascinating, and it makes life difficult for some of the other Eastern Conference stars.

Toronto will be a good playoff club because Nick Nurse understands precisely what he needs to do to keep this team successful. Obviously, the players they'll be facing, such as Giannis Antetokounmpo and Joel Embiid, might play like the best players in the world regardless of the defensive tactics you throw at them, but Nick Nurse will make it difficult for both of these players

2. Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet must be at the top of their game

Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet will have to play their best basketball if the Toronto Raptors are to have any chance of making noise in the playoffs. Once again, there's no reason to believe these players won't succeed because they've always performed admirably when pitted against the strongest competition possible throughout the regular season. Add in the fact that both of them have previously played on championship teams, and they know precisely what it takes to win in the playoffs.

Other players on this Raptors team will obviously have to step up for them, but the truth of the scenario is that their two best players will have to perform like they know they can if they are to succeed.

1. The defense is as good as it gets

This has a lot to do with Nick Nurse, who is the one who comes up with these game plans. The fact is that the Toronto Raptors outperform every other team in the NBA against players like Giannis Antetokounmpo and Joel Embiid.

They basically throw new defensive systems at these players that they aren't used to when they are game-planning for them. We saw Nurse implement that wall for Giannis Antetokounmpo a couple of seasons ago, and you saw the effects. Despite the fact that he won't be able to use that style of defense against Giannis Antetokounmpo anymore due to the Bucks' outside shooting, he still does an excellent job game-planning for him, as seen by the last few games they've played against the Bucks.

When you look at the Toronto Raptors roster, you see that they have a lot of defensive players. Pascal Siakam, Scottie Barnes, OG Anunoby, and a slew of other players on the roster excel at defense. They'll have to keep playing this sort of high-level defense if they want to succeed the rest of the season and in the playoffs.