The Lakers (15-5) will begin a three-game road trip starting with the Toronto Raptors (15-7) on Thursday. LA looks to bounce back after a disappointing and eye-opening loss to the Phoenix Suns last Sunday.

Start time and TV schedule

Who: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Toronto Raptors

When: 4:30 p.m. PT, Dec. 4

Watch: Spectrum Sportsnet

The Lakers’ embarrassing loss to their division rival on Sunday was a lesson in the importance of approach. Sure, they’re not overreacting to it and rightfully so, but it was certainly a wake-up call for them to perhaps improve the level of seriousness they have.

The team’s lack of focus over the last few weeks didn’t seem all that concerning, given that they were constantly winning games. But in the midst of doing that, there were already glaring signs with last Sunday’s loss being the strongest of all.

With their schedule about to get harder this month, there’s no better time for the purple and gold to turn their focus up. They face the Raptors on Thursday without Luka Dončić, who is out due to personal reasons. So now more than ever, LA will have to play harder without their best player to have a chance in this one.

This then focuses the spotlight on LeBron James, who is coming off a rather forgettable performance against the Suns, scoring just 10 points on 3-10 shooting from the field and 1-4 from deep.

This slow start is understandable, since it was only LeBron’s fifth game this season and he’s still building his rhythm, but it’ll be ideal if he has his best performance yet against the Raptors. After all, LeBronto still exists.

Although, in fairness to the Raptors, they’re playing their best basketball in years. They’re currently sitting in second place in the Eastern Conference standings and have the league’s sixth-best defense.

Toronto isn’t that far off on offense either, as they’re ranked 11th in offensive rating. This squad is young, hungry, and determined to prove that they’re no longer pushovers. Adding Brandon Ingram to the mix has certainly helped, as he’s averaging 21.5 points, followed by Scottie Barnes’ 20.3.

To beat this Raptors team, the Lakers will really need to turn up their focus, especially on defense. The question is, who is going to step up?

They’ll need at least Austin Reaves to have one of his superstar-like performances, along with contributions from across the board. Hopefully, the two days of rest were enough to energize them to perform better and knock down their shots because they’re going to need it.

Let’s see how the Lakers respond to one of their worst losses of the season and whether they switch their approach against the Raptors on Thursday.

For the injury report, the Lakers listed Luka Dončić (personal reasons) and Marcus Smart (back spasms) as out.As for the Raptors, RJ Barrett (right knee sprain) and Jakob Poeltl (lower back injury) won’t be available.

You can follow Nicole on Twitter at @nicoleganglani.