If you didn’t know better, you might think there was a conspiracy against the United States unfolding here, threatening its most treasured institutions and precepts. If you didn’t know better, you might think it’s all lining up for an upending of the traditional order of things. And if you really didn’t know better, you’d blame Canada for it.
Yes, the Toronto Raptors are a problem. John Schuhmann’s NBA.com power rankings have them No. 1 for the first time in the history of his list. Sports Illustrated, too. FiveThirtyEight’s math-math-math projections have the Raptors second in the NBA, with a 60-per-cent chance of making the NBA final.