Paul Jones

Paul Jones is the voice of the Raptors on the FAN 590 and writes regularly for Sportsnet.ca.

Everyone remembers Kobe's 81 against the Raptors.

Which side of the fence are you on right now as a Toronto Raptors fan as they head into Tuesday's game against the Los Angeles Lakers?

Are you of the mindset that it is good to be playing the Lakers right now because the "Lake Show" looks like they are going through dress rehearsals with many players not knowing their lines? They are suffering through their first three-game losing streak since 2008 and the first ever since they acquired Pau Gasol.

Or, are you thinking: hmm, this is not good since the Lakers have not lost four in a row since 2007, they are only 4-4 since Kobe's return and Toronto is coming off a disappointing loss at home?

Well, it has to be played either way and if all hands are on deck for Toronto -- Hedo Turkoglu is listed as probable for the game -- the Raptors are feeling good about their chances.

Raptors assistant coach Mark Iavaroni is the guy that studies the opponent's tendencies and had a few thoughts as to how Toronto could win the game recognizing the fact that all teams have their issues at times.

"All teams go through periods where they struggle," Iavaroni said.

The schedule might be catching up to the Lakers as well. Remember how the Lakers had all those home games earlier in the season? Well, it's time to pay the bill right now as Los Angeles had a three-game road trip, comes home for one game against Toronto and then goes back out on the road for three more before finishing the month with five of seven away from the Staples Centre.

But they do have that guy Kobe Bryant who is very difficult to stop and with the mood he's in right now, he could be trouble for the Raptors.

"We're going to look a lot at what we did with them (in the win) in Toronto," Iavaroni said. "You have to change your personnel against him. We have to give him different looks, because once a great player gets a feel for what's going on, he's going to be able to overcome it."

Expect to see Sonny Weems, Antonie Wright and DeMar DeRozan all guarding Bryant at one point or another.

Toronto has not won in Los Angeles against the Lakers since 2001 and when the Raptors come to town, all everybody wants to talk about is 81. Can you blame them? It was a historical night. I can tell you that all the movie stars that missed the game that January evening in 2006 against the Raptors show up now when Toronto is in town.

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My faith has been restored a bit in the competitive balance in the NBA. I was wondering what was going on Saturday night in Milwaukee when the Cavaliers went to town and LeBron registered a DNP in the box score with the notation "rest" beside it. I thought, what the heck are the Cavs doing? They are "resting" James in the middle of the season against a playoff team? It's not like they put him on the shelf for rest against the New Jersey Nets or something?

Now there were whispers that he was injured and the Cavaliers were trying to keep it on the down low. But secrets are hard to keep and the fact that he was hurt came out when he sat out Monday night in Cleveland's home win, 97-95 over San Antonio.

As one reporter said about James sitting out with back and ankle injuries, "Your back would be sore too, if you had to carry an entire franchise, a city and a league too."