Toronto is ready for its close-up. With hundreds of journalists from all over the world at Scotiabank Arena for the NBA Finals, we take a look at what’s being said about the Raptors and our city. (hint: it’s a lot of Drake):

ESPN

The American sports giant polled its panel of 21 experts and only two picked the Raptors to win.

“Kawhi Leonard, Kyle Lowry and the Raptors are a real threat, but the Warriors are still outstanding without (Kevin) Durant, have much more Finals experience and are very well rested for the first time in a while,” wrote Marc Spears, senior NBA writer for the Undefeated.

CBS Sports

The only thing its panel of experts disagree with is how long the series will last. All 10 of its experts picked the Warriors to win the NBA Finals.

James Herbert notes that there’s “a near-total absence of useful data about the matchup.”

“It’s not just that Golden State and Toronto only met twice this season; it is that those two meetings are essentially meaningless. Both were before the Raptors traded Jonas Valanciunas, Delon Wright and C.J. Miles for Marc Gasol. Both were before DeMarcus Cousins made his season debut. Key players sat out.”

FiveThirtyEight

There is one American website, however, that does predict the Toronto Raptors winning the NBA Finals. FiveThirtyEight, which focuses on opinion poll analysis and politics, gives the Raptors a 55 per cent chance of winning.

But the website’s founder Nate Silver warns his readers not to “wager all your loonies on the Raptors.”

“I do want to point out that ‘slight’ really does mean ‘slight’ in this instance,” Silver wrote. “The Raptors are merely 55 per cent favorites in the series, at least based on our current understanding (as of early Wednesday morning) of the injury prognosis for Durant and Cousins. In our election forecasts, we’d label a race like that as a ‘toss-up.’ ”

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The 6 gets some love

ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith already made headlines last week when he complained about being pulled aside for 90 minutes by customs at Pearson airport. In the discussion on First Take, he said: “Dammit, I didn’t think getting into Canada would be this hard! … I know I am whining. I know I am complaining. I don’t give a damn!”

But he was much more complimentary this week, as fans on the Real GM fan site noted. “I’ve got to tell you something, Toronto is a fabulous city. It’s got everything. I mean, everything.”

Smith’s eyeroll is legendary.

Bruce Jenkins, sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle, marvelled at the city’s diversity.

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“A walk along Toronto’s main drag, Yonge Street, is to be transported into a truly international landscape,” Jenkins wrote. “Branching out, visitors might find themselves in Chinatown, Greektown, Little Poland, Little Italy, Little India. The influence of basketball, in certain pockets of town, is striking to behold.

Jurassic Park, where ticket-less fans go to watch the Raptors on the big screen outside Scotiabank Arena, also got some praise.

“There isn’t a more joyous public setting in the sporting universe,” Jenkins wrote.

Drake obsession

When ESPN isn’t busy breaking down the matchup between the two teams, it’s reporting on the latest antics involving Drake. The NBA spoke with the Raps about Drizzy’s courtside presence ahead of the Finals, according to reporter Michele Steele.

The article doesn’t specify what was said but reminds readers this wasn’t the first time the NBA confronted the rapper, who was warned last year after he exchanged words with the Cavaliers’ Kendrick Perkins during the series between the Raptors and Cavs.

It seemed like everybody has been asked about Drake, whose antics courtside has been endless fodder for talk shows leading up to the NBA Finals. On Monday, Warriors coach Stephen Kerr was asked what would happen if the Toronto rapper gave him a quick shoulder rub.

“I’m not worried about Drake. I called him on his cellphone earlier and ... my daughter’s rolling her eyes right now,” Kerr said, referencing Drake’s “Hotline Bling,” sparking laughter from reporters.

On Wednesday, Warriors’ sharpshooter Klay Thompson was asked at his media availability if he’d keep Drake’s music on his playlist.

“If it’s a bad song, I’ll skip it,” Thompson said. “But if it’s one of his hits, I’ll play it. . . . But I will definitely skip the song if I don’t like it. And if it’s one of his soft R & B songs, I’m going to skip it, because I’m in kill mode right now. I’m trying to get these four games. So I’ll skip ‘Hotline Bling’ and anything along that line.”

Toronto hosting the world

Fox Sports ran an Associated Press article calling Thursday’s game the “most international NBA Finals” yet, with players from eight different countries in the series. There are 215 countries broadcasting the Finals, including a half-dozen networks from Australia, Estonia, Hong Kong and New Zealand airing the series for the first time.

The outlet’s Colin Cowherd also isn’t counting out the Raptors, and that there’s a precedent for an upset.

Zaniness has started

It was media day Wednesday, which isn’t as crazy as its circus-like counterpart for the Super Bowl — the football version includes celebrities, fans, journalists and the occasional marriage proposal. But it was still a bit of a zoo at Scotiabank Arena.

ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel sent his security guard Guillermo Rodriguez, who tried to get some of the Raptors to do maple syrup shots with him. OG Anunoby — who still hasn’t played after an emergency appendectomy last month — declined, citing allergies so Guillermo ended up downing both.

Temur Durrani is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Star's radio room in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @temurdur

Patrick Ho is a rewrite editor working on the Star's digital desk in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @patrick_ho_007

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