: Nine hundred and fifty-seven: the loser who was immediately forgotten

　　 The first battle between the Trail Blazers and the Grizzlies made most people fall through.
　　 The fierce game process that I imagined did not appear, and the dramatic split between Lillard and Link did not take place.
　　Although Aldridge scored a game-high 32 points, the Blazers fans will certainly not be happy about it.
　　 The Blazers seemed to have changed a team. After the game, the whole team was lifeless and lacking any vitality.
　　 The words Lillard said at the press conference showed their frustration even more vividly.
　　People find it strange.
　　 You must know that the Trail Blazers in the last round of the game were still strong even when they were 1 to 3 behind.
　　 They reversed the deeds of the Clippers' victory. I don't know how many fans they attracted.
　　 And now, the Blazers have only lost one game. Why does that energy seem to disappear?
　　 People find it strange, wondering why the Blazers are so vulnerable this time.
　　 It's just 0 to 1 behind. There is obviously a chance.
　　 But from another perspective, the psychology of the Blazers players is actually not difficult to understand.
　　The reason why they are so frustrated is because for them, the pressure on them by the Grizzlies is even greater than the pressure of 1 to 3 behind...
　　 They may be able to regroup when they are behind 1 to 3, because they are behind 1 to 3, which is not completely hopeless.
　　 And the Grizzlies just made the Blazers see no hope...
　　 After being slaughtered 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 Blazers really made a change.
In the second game of the 　　 series, the Trail Blazers put second-year guard C.J. McCollum into the starting lineup.
　　 McCollum has almost no sense of presence in the regular season. As a substitute for Matthews, he averaged only 6.8 points per game and played less than 20 minutes per game.
　　 But in the first round of the playoffs, his performance was very good. The average scoring has soared from 6.8 points to 17 points per game, and the three-pointer hit rate is 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 the Trail Blazers history to score at least 26 points off the bench since Steve Colt in 1985.
　　 Stotts replaced McCollum, hoping to continue to realize McCollum's potential. Add an offensive point with the ball to relieve Lillard's pressure.
　　 But obviously, Stotts overestimated McCollum's offensive ability with the ball.
　　His thinking is correct, but he wants to share part of Lillard's burden, but not just a defender can do it.
　　The importance of Lillard is self-evident to the Blazers. If he could be replaced so easily, it would not be so important.
　　 In the second game of the series, Lillard was still overwhelmed by the combined defense of Link and Conley. Where is McCollum? He did play some roles. At the beginning of the game, he made two consecutive shots.
　　 But when the Grizzlies paid attention to him, Stotts' changes instantly became useless.
　　 The current C.J. McCollum has no way to gain the upper hand in the one-on-one with Butler.
　　 Butler has been considered a player of the best defensive team level this season, and McCollum is just a small substitute who just made a name for himself.
　　 But fortunately, with Aldridge's excellent performance in the first quarter, the Blazers survived.
　　 Aldridge made 4 of 6 shots in the first quarter, as if he had regained his previous high efficiency.
　　 After finishing the first quarter, the Trail Blazers are only 5 points behind the Grizzlies. On the surface, it was more than a star and a half better than the previous one.
　　 But Stotts did not have any relaxed expression on his face. He knew very well that the team was able to bite the score today not because of his adjustments, but simply because Aldridge was in good shape.
　　 However, a qualified head coach can't expect a player who is in full form to win the game.
　　 If you are in a good state, you will come, but in the same way, you will also leave.
　　 Relying on a sudden good state to win, that is tantamount to gambling.
　　 But up to now, Stotts has no good solution to the problem. The Trail Blazers are just such players, no matter how subtle the tactics, they can't do things beyond their capabilities.
　　 Sure enough, after entering the second quarter, Aldridge's good state disappeared.
　　 Gasol more closely helped Link to keep an eye on the "shooting machine", so throughout the second quarter, Aldridge made only 1 of 5 shots.
　　 Lillard is 2 in 6, McCollum is 0 in 2...
　　 The Trail Blazers’ offense was completely stalled, and to make matters worse, the Trail Blazers’ defensive rebounds suddenly collapsed.
　　 In the second quarter, the Grizzlies relied on offensive rebounds to make many second offenses.
　　 The point difference was getting bigger and bigger. At the end of the first quarter, the Trail Blazers were only 5 points behind. By the time of the intermission, they were already 17 points behind.
　　 As Lillard thought, playing a series against the Grizzlies is actually just one game.
　　 The next three games were just repeated killings.
　　 In the end, the 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 he was off. He only scored 24 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists, which is a painless data.
　　 Link didn't even need to exert any effort, the Trail Blazers themselves collapsed first.
　　 At the end of the game, Hubby Brin jokingly said, "The staff must check the rim of the Federal Express Arena. I guess the Trail Blazers smashed the rim."
　　 Although this is just a joke, it also reflects the Trailblazers' continued low shooting percentage today.
　　 The Trail Blazers made 77 shots and 47 irons, and the team's shooting percentage was only 39.0%!
　　 Among them, Aldridge was 7 of 20, shooting 35%. Lillard was 5 of 16, shooting 31.3% from the field.
　　 McCollum, who was highly expected, was even more "excellent", shooting 3 of 13 from the field and shooting only 23.1%!
　　 In addition to hitting twice at the beginning of the game, he was hitting iron almost the entire game.
　　 Trailblazers can be said that iron has developed a new height and iron has developed a new temperament.
　　 Not only that, the Grizzlies also used 12 offensive rebounds today and scored 29 points with a second offense... It turns out that the gap between the Grizzlies and the Trail Blazers is actually bigger than people think.
　　 Lillard is only one aspect, in other places, the Blazers may not have the advantage.
After the game, a reporter asked Stotts, "The next game will be back to Portland, back to Moda Center. Do you think your team has the ability to change the situation at home? You will create the first place again Was it a miracle in a round?"
　　 Like Lillard yesterday, Stotts couldn't answer anything except his frustrated face.
　　 He smiled awkwardly, then turned away in silence.
　　 did not say a word, but he gave a fairly clear answer.
　　In the two games in Portland, the Blazers did not stand up.
　　 On May 11, at the Moda Center, the Grizzlies ended the fourth round of the second round of the series. At the same time, it also ended the journey of the Portland Trail Blazers this season.
　　 They have had glory, but the ending is very miserable.
　　 Lillard averaged 21.0 points and 43.4% shooting during the regular season. In this round of the series, only 14.3 points per game were recorded, and the shooting percentage was only 33.1%.
　　 Aldridge averaged 23.4 points in the regular season ~ EbookFREE.me ~ 46.6% shooting. This round of the series averaged only 18.7 points and 41.3% shooting...
　　 The Grizzlies only used one move to reveal the magical trailblazer.
　　 Link did not score 30 in any game in this series because he didn’t need to do that...
　　 After the game, Lillard hugged Link as usual.
　　 But at this time, the face of the No. 0 guard no longer has the confidence that was at the beginning of the series.
　　 He once thought that he and the team might be able to beat the Grizzlies in one go, but now it seems naive.
　　 Looking at Lillard's frustrated figure, Link shook his head. Although he doesn't want his friends to be like this, but there is no way. This is competitive sports.
　　 Link had prepared a lot of things to comfort Lillard at the press conference, but Link was surprised that no reporters at the press conference after the game asked questions about the Trail Blazers!
The 　　 series just ended, Lillard and the Blazers were immediately forgotten.
　　 At the press conference after the game, the reporter no longer cared about the Blazers and Lillard.
　　The only question they asked the most was, "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.
　　 With the approach of the MVP awards, the friction between Link and Curry, the Grizzlies and the Warriors has also escalated to a white-hot stage...