Nine Hundred and Fifty-Seven: The Immediately Forgotten Loser

The first battle between the Trail Blazers and the Grizzlies shocked most people.

The intense game process as imagined did not appear, and the scoring drama between Lillard and Link did not take place.

Although Aldridge scored a game-high 32 points, Trail Blazers fans certainly won't be happy about it.

The Trail Blazers seemed to have changed into a different team. After the game, the entire team was lifeless and without any vitality.

And what Lillard said at the press conference clearly demonstrated their frustration.

People find it strange.

You know, the Trail Blazers in the last round of the game were still strong even in the desperate situation of falling behind 1-3.

Their reversal of the Clippers' victory attracted countless fans.

Now, the Blazers have only lost one game, so why does that energy seem to disappear?

People are wondering why the Blazers are so vulnerable this time.

It's just a 0-1 deficit. There is obviously still a chance.

But looking at it from another perspective, the psychology of the Trail Blazers players is actually not difficult to understand.

The reason why they are so frustrated is because for them, the pressure the Grizzlies put on them is greater than the pressure of falling behind 1 to 3...

They may be able to rally after falling behind 1-3, because falling behind 1-3 is not completely hopeless.

And the Grizzlies just made it impossible for the Trail Blazers to see any hope...

After being massacred by the Grizzlies in the first game, Terry Stotts and his team immediately studied countermeasures, hoping to solve the team's problems.

So in the second game, the Trail Blazers really made changes.

In the second game of the series, the Trail Blazers pushed second-year guard C.J. McCollum into the starting lineup.

McCollum had almost no presence in the regular season. As Matthews' substitute, he averaged only 6.8 points per game and averaged less than 20 minutes per game.

But in the first round of the playoffs, his performance was quite outstanding. The average points per game soared from 6.8 points to 17 points, and the three-point shooting rate was as high as 47.8%!

In the fourth game of the series with the Clippers, McCollum also scored a career-high 26 points! That game also made him the first player in Trail Blazers history to score at least 26 points off the bench in the playoffs since Steve Colt in 1985.

Stotts replaced McCollum in the hope of continuing to unleash McCollum's potential. Add an offensive point with the ball to relieve Lillard's pressure.

But it's obvious that Stotts overestimated McCollum's offensive ability with the ball.

His idea is correct, but if he wants to share some of Lillard's burden, not just any defender can do it.

Lillard's importance to the Trail Blazers is self-evident. If he could be replaced so easily, it wouldn't be so important.

In the second game of the series, Lillard was still troubled by the combined defense of Link and Conley. What about McCollum? He did make some plays. At the beginning of the game, he hit two consecutive shots.

But when the Grizzlies paid attention to him, Stotts' changes instantly became useless.

Now C.J. McCollum has no way to gain the upper hand in a one-on-one matchup with Butler.

Butler has been considered an All-Defensive team player this season, while McCollum is just a small substitute who has just made a name for himself.

Fortunately, in the first quarter, thanks to Aldridge's outstanding performance,

The Trail Blazers managed to survive.

Aldridge made 4 of 6 shots in the first quarter and seemed to have regained his former efficient state.

After the first quarter, the Trail Blazers were only 5 points behind the Grizzlies. On the surface, it is more than a little bit better than the last one.

But Stotts didn't have any relaxed expression on his face. He knew very well that the team was able to bite the score today not because his adjustments were effective, but only because Aldridge was in good personal condition.

However, a qualified head coach cannot expect a player in peak condition to win the game.

A good state can come and go at a given time, but it can also go away at a given time.

Relying on a sudden good state to win is tantamount to gambling.

But so far in the game, Stotts has no good solution to the problem. The Trail Blazers only have so many players. No matter how sophisticated their tactics are, they can't do anything beyond their capabilities.

Sure enough, after entering the second quarter, Aldridge's good state disappeared.

Gasol helped Link keep an eye on the "shooting machine" more closely, so throughout the second quarter, Aldridge only made 1 of 5 shots.

Lillard went 2 for 6, McCollum went 0 for 2...

The Trail Blazers' offense came to a complete standstill, and to make matters worse, the Trail Blazers' defensive rebounds suddenly collapsed.

In the second quarter, the Grizzlies relied on offensive rebound opportunities to create many secondary attacks.

The point difference was getting wider and wider. The Trail Blazers, who were only 5 points behind at the end of the first quarter, were already 17 points behind at halftime.

As Lillard thought, the real game in the series with the Grizzlies was actually just one game.

The next three games were just repeated killings.

In the end, the Trail Blazers still failed to cause trouble for the Grizzlies. In the second game, they lost again 97-82.

Link only played three and a half quarters before leaving the game. He only scored 24 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists, which were insignificant data.

Link didn't have to exert any force at all, and the Blazers themselves collapsed first.

At the end of the game, Hubie Brindle said jokingly, "The staff must check the rim at FedEx Arena. I guess the Trail Blazers smashed the rim and tilted it."

Although this is just a joke, it also reflects the problem of the Trail Blazers' continued low shooting percentage today.

The Trail Blazers took 77 shots and 47 shots in the game, and the team's shooting percentage was only 39.0%!

Among them, Aldridge made 7 of 20, shooting 35%. Lillard hit 5 of 16, a shooting percentage of 31.3%.

McCollum, who had high hopes, was even more "excellent". He made 3 of 13 shots from the field and his shooting percentage was only 23.1%!

Except for scoring two goals at the beginning of the game, he spent almost the whole game.

It can be said that the Trail Blazers have reached a new height and a new temperament.

Not only that, the Grizzlies also used 12 offensive rebounds today and used the second offense to score 29 points... It turns out that the gap between the Grizzlies and the Trail Blazers is actually wider than people imagined.

Lillard is only one aspect, and the Trail Blazers may not necessarily have an advantage in other places.

After the game, a reporter asked Stotts, "The next game will be back in Portland, back at the Moda Center. Do you think your team has the ability to change the situation at home? Will you create a new record again?" A miracle in one round?”

Like Lillard yesterday, Stotts couldn't answer anything except a frustrated look.

He smiled awkwardly, then turned and left silently.

Without saying a word, he gave a pretty clear answer.

In the two games in Portland, the Trail Blazers really didn't hold up.

On May 11, at the Moda Center, the Grizzlies ended the fourth game of the second round of the series. At the same time, it also ended the Portland Trail Blazers' journey this season.

They had their moments of glory, but their ending was very miserable.

Lillard averaged 21.0 points per game during the regular season and shot 43.4% from the field. In this round of the series, he averaged only 14.3 points per game and shot only 33.1% from the field.

Aldridge averaged 23.4 points per game in the regular season and shot 46.6% from the field. This series averaged only 18.7 points per game and shot 41.3% from the field...

With just one move, the Grizzlies revealed the true colors of the magical Blazers.

Link didn't score 30 points in any game in this series because he didn't have to do that...

After the game, Lillard hugged Link as usual.

But at this time, the face of the No. 0 defender no longer had the confidence he had at the beginning of the series.

He once thought that he and the team might be able to defeat the Grizzlies in one go, but now it seems that this is simply naive.

Looking at Lillard's depressed figure, Link shook his head. Although he didn't want his friend to be like this, he couldn't help it, this was competitive sports.

Link originally prepared a lot of words to comfort Lillard at the press conference, but what surprised Link was that no reporters asked questions related to the Trail Blazers at the post-game press conference!

The series had barely ended, and Lillard and the Blazers were immediately forgotten.

When attending the press conference after the game, reporters no longer cared about the Trail Blazers and Lillard.

The question they asked the most was just one, "In two days, the results of the regular season MVP will be announced. Link, do you think you can win this award again?"

Sure enough, competitive sports never show mercy to the weak.

As the MVP award approaches, the friction between Link and Curry, the Grizzlies and the Warriors has also escalated to a fever pitch...