BULLS OF THE WEEK

We’re bullish on the Toronto Raptors, the only Canadian team among the 32 still playing NBA basketball or NHL hockey during the first round of the playoffs. As expected, their TV ratings have spiked in just one week, more than tripling from regular-season audiences of less than 175,000 Canadians to more than 600,000. Eliminating the Indiana Pacers would be their first series win in 15 years.

It would also release the emotional investment that many softer-core Raptors fans have been withholding after the playoff disappointments of 2014 and 2015, including last year’s fourgame sweep by the Washington Wizards. The Raptors in the second round will pump up national TV numbers to the point where they should meet or exceed the one-million threshold. All they need is two more wins to get to that promised land of TV ratings and the real payoff to a franchise record 56-win regular season.