The first battle between the Trail Blazers and the Grizzlies made most people fall into their glasses.

The intense game process as imagined did not appear, and the drama between Lillard and Link was not staged.

Although Aldridge scored a game-high 32 points, the fans of the Trail Blazers will definitely not be happy about it.

The Trail Blazers seemed to have become a team. After the game, the entire team was dead and had no vitality.

The words Lillard said at the press conference fully demonstrated their frustration.

People find it strange.

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

They reversed the Clippers' victory, and I don't know how many fans they attracted.

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

People all find it strange, wondering why the Trail Blazers are so fragile this time.

It's just 0-1 behind, there's still a chance.

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

The reason why they are so frustrated is that for them, the pressure on the Grizzlies to them is even more than the pressure of falling behind 1 to 3...

They may be able to regroup when they are behind 1-3, because they are behind 1-3 and not completely unable to see hope.

And the Grizzlies just let the Trail Blazers see no 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 made changes.

In the second game of the series, the Trail Blazers pushed sophomore guard C.J. McCollum to the start.

McCollum has almost no presence in the regular season. As Matthews' substitute, 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 quite outstanding. His average score soared from 6.8 points to being able to score 17 points, and his 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 the history of the Trail Blazers to play at least 26 points in the playoff substitute since Steve Colt in 1985.

Stotts replaced McCollum in his hopes to continue to realize McCollum's potential, increase a ball-holding offensive point and relieve Lillard's pressure.

But it is obvious that Stotts overestimated McCollum's ability to hold the ball.

His idea is correct, but it is not possible for any defender to share some of the burden on Lillard.

Lillard's importance is self-evident to the Trail 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 combination of Link and Conley's defense. What about McCollum? He did play some role. At the beginning of the game, he made two consecutive shots.

But when the Grizzlies took him seriously, Stotts's change instantly became useless.

Now c.j. McCollum has no way to gain the upper hand in one-on-one with Butler.

Butler is already considered the best defensive player this season, and McCollum is just a small substitute who has just made a name for himself.

Fortunately, with Aldridge's outstanding performance in the first quarter, the Trail Blazers finally managed to hold on.

Aldridge made 4 of 6 shots in the first quarter, as if he had regained his former efficient state.

After the Trail Blazers finished the first quarter, they were only 5 points behind the Grizzlies. On the surface, they improved more than a little bit from the previous game.

But Stotts did not have any relaxed expression on his face. He knew very well that the team was able to hold on to the score today not because his adjustments had worked, but just because Aldridge was in good condition.

However, a qualified head coach cannot expect a player in a very strong state to win the game.

Good conditions come at your own risk, but in the same way, you will also leave at your own risk.

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

But until now, Stotts has no good way to solve the problem. There are only a few players of the Trail Blazers. No matter how exquisite the tactics are, they cannot do anything beyond their ability.

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

Gasol helped Link stare at the "shot machine", so Aldridge made only 1 of 5 shots in the second quarter.

Lillard made 2 of 6, McCollum made 0 of 2...

The Trail Blazers' offense has completely reached a stagnant state, and to make matters worse, the Trail Blazers' defensive rebound suddenly collapsed.

In the second quarter, the Grizzlies made many second attacks with the opportunity of offensive rebounds.

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

As Lillard thought, playing a series with the Grizzlies, the real game is actually just one game.

The next three games were just repeated killings.

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

Link got off the court after only three and a half quarters, scoring only 24 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. This is a painless data.

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

At the end of the game, Hubby Blin joked, "The staff must check the rings of the Federal Express Arena. I guess the Trail Blazers smashed the baskets and tilted them."

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

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

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

McCollum, who was highly anticipated, was even more "excellent". He made 3 of 13 shots in the game, with a shooting percentage of only 23.1%!

Except for two goals in a row at the beginning of the game, he spent almost the whole game.

The Trail Blazers can be said to have reached a new height and a new temperament.

Not only that, the Grizzlies also used 12 frontcourt rebounds today and scored 29 points with their second offense... As it turns out, the gap between the Grizzlies and the Trail Blazers is actually larger than people imagined.

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

After the game, a reporter asked Stotts, "I will return to Portland in the next game and return to Moda Center. Do you think your team has the ability to change the situation at home? Will you create the miracle of the first round again?"

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

He smiled awkwardly, then turned around and left silently.

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

The Trail Blazers did not withstand the two games in Portland.

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

They had glory, but the ending was very miserable.

Lillard averaged 21.0 points per game in the regular season and shot 43.4%. In this round of the series, he averaged only 14.3 points per game, with a shooting percentage of only 33.1%.

Aldridge averaged 23.4 points per game in the regular season and shot 46.6%. In this round of the series, he averaged only 18.7 points per game, shot 41.3%...

The Grizzlies used just one move to reveal the magical Trail Blazer's true colors.

Link didn't score 30 in any of the games in this round of the series because he didn't have to do that at all...

After the game, Lillard hugged Link as always.

But at this time, the No. 0 defender had no confidence 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 that this is simply naive.

Looking at Lillard's frustrated figure, Link shook his head. Although he didn't want his friends to do this, there was nothing he could do. This is competitive sports.

Link was originally prepared to comfort Lillard at the press conference, but to Link's surprise, there were no reporters asking questions about the Trail Blazers at the post-match press conference!

As the series ended, Lillard and the Trail Blazers were immediately forgotten.

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

The most asked questions they only had one question, "There are two days left, and 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 give mercy to the weak.
Chapter completed!