CLEVELAND — One way the Raptors hope to get back into this second round series with the Cleveland Cavaliers is by being a lot more physical with the defending NBA champions.

The thinking is Cavs not named Tristan Thompson don’t enjoy slogging it out in the trenches or being involved in 1990s-style NBA games (think Miami Heat vs. New York Knicks). LeBron James, in particular, often makes a big production whenever an opponent has the temerity to put a hand on him. Despite his size and strength, James would rather play a skill game.

The Raptors know that and intended to let him know he was in for a tough series, but it just simply did not happen in Game 1.

P.J. Tucker, probably the most physical of the Raptors, gave an honest answer when asked if referees make it more difficult to go that route on James.

“Yeah, I mean, it’s part of the game. Some players get better whistles than others, it’s the truth,” Tucker told Postmedia.

“You’ve got to be careful, watch spots, especially in open situations (as in when your man has the ball or you are near the referees), where, you are probably going to get calls. Other situations you can be more physical. It’s the game,” he said.

Tucker said the Raptors must do a better job of bothering the Cavs by getting closer to them, without fouling.

“We’ve got to get into the ball better … More than anything, it’s get out on the shooters, we gave them a lot of open shots and we’ve got to get out there,” Tucker said.

FACING THE CHALLENGE

The old saying goes that to be the best, you’ve got to first beat the best.

So the Raptors don’t buy into the idea that it’s a bad thing to face Cleveland now, instead of in the conference final. They figure they’ll have to beat them at some point anyway, might as well try.

“To win a championship, you’re going to have to play great teams,” Cory Joseph explained earlier this week.

“Everybody’s made it to the playoffs for a reason. It’s going to be tough basketball. They’re a great team and the defending champs and they’re going to be the defending champs until somebody — hopefully we — can knock them off.”

Joseph was on a Spurs team that beat James and the Miami Heat at the Finals, but has also fallen to James-led groups twice, including that heartbreaking year Ray Allen hit his miracle shot with the Spurs seconds away from a championship.

FAMILIAR FACE

In addition to all of the returning players from last year who faced James in the East final, Toronto has another player quite familiar with James in Serge Ibaka. Ibaka and the Oklahoma City Thunder played the Miami Heat in 2012, winning the opener at home, before dropping four straight as James won his first title. Only stars Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden played more minutes in that series than Ibaka, who averaged seven points, two blocks and 5.2 rebounds. Ibaka shot a disappointing 42% from the field and four Thunder players averaged more rebounds. The Raptors will need a lot more from Ibaka, who is older, wiser and more talented now than he was as a 22-year-old with little NBA experience.

Cavs forward Kevin Love said Ibaka gives the Raptors a “different dynamic” and will help the team in the series because of all the big games he has played in.

Ibaka made the mistake of challenging James back in 2012, saying he wasn’t that good of a defender. James responded by saying Ibaka was trying to bait him and then called him “an idiot.”

GETTING PREPARED

In practice on Tuesday the Raptors had their brigade of youngsters impersonating the Cleveland starters. Energetic forward Pascal Siakam wore a green, No. 23 jersey and was playing the role of LeBron James, Lucas Nogueira was Kevin Love, Jakob Poeltl was Tristan Thompson, Fred VanVleet was Kyrie Irving and Bruno Caboclo was J.R. Smith.

TOP OF THE WORLD

VanVleet is having a pretty good run the past few weeks. Though he likely won’t see much action during the series, he is getting an up-close look at a key playoff series and just won an NBA Development League title with Raptors 905.

VanVleet had 28 points and 14 assists in the winner-take-all final.

“The good thing about it is it wasn’t a surprise, you kind of knew going in, go down, take care of business and come right back up,” VanVleet said of rotating between the Raptors and the Mississauga squad.

“It was like they dropped the first game and I was kind of thrown down there as a reinforcement. That was my mindset to go in and win the series and come right back.”

VanVleet was extremely complimentary of the 905 players for accepting the arrival of the NBA players without “ego” and of the coaching staff, led by Jerry Stackhouse.

AROUND THE RIM

James has 16 playoff games with at least 35 points and 10 rebounds and a victory, six behind Shaquille O’Neal for the most since 1984. Hakeem Olajuwon did it 11 times, Michael Jordan 10 … Toronto has lost 10 straight series opening games, breaking a tie with Sacramento (1981-2001) for the longest streak in NBA history … Cleveland has shot 51.5% in three home playoff games this year, 43% on the road and averaged 23.7 assists at home, just 17 on the road.