The Toronto Raptors are experiencing team success much earlier than most expected this season, and there appears to be a reason; youth.

Toronto struggled coming out of the gate, losing three of the first four games. Since then, the Raptors have won five straight games following their 109-100 victory over Washington Wednesday.

A lot of that can be credited with the aggressiveness they are playing with.

Wednesday's win helped them start the season 4-0 on the road for the first time in franchise history. Safe to say that is not what was expected when team favorite and Raptor great Kyle Lowry left in the off-season.

But, with veteran leadership leaving, it has allowed the young kids to flourish.

Led by small forward OG Anunoby and shooting guard Fred Van Vleet, the Raptors are excelling on both ends of the floor.

Khem Birch credits a lot of the success to the young legs. That shows in the stats.

Via Lori Ewing of The Globe and Mail:

“I’m not going to lie, it really did surprise me,” Raptors forward and Montreal native Khem Birch said. “It’s funny, when all the older guys left this summer, it was like, ‘Wow, we are pretty young.’ Then I realized that’s kind of a benefit just because they’re able to full-court press and do all the little things that a veteran wouldn’t do just because he is a veteran.

“These guys, with the freedom we have, it gives them a lot of confidence and I feel that is why they are accelerating in the system.”

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After nine games, Toronto is only allowing 100.2 points per game. That is the 2nd best mark in the Eastern Conference behind only the Miami Heat.

Toronto is succeeding despite missing arguably their best player. All-Star Pascal Siakam is still recovering from off-season shoulder surgery.

But they are getting contributions from different guys each night. Rookie forward Scottie Barnes is averaging 18 points and nine rebounds per game. Gary Trent Jr. is chipping in over 15 points per game and is among the league leaders in steals, averaging just under three per game.

The Raptors will play Cleveland, Brooklyn, Boston and Philadelphia their next four games. So, time will tell if this is a mirage or the Raptors can be taken seriously.