The first battle between the Trail Blazers and the Grizzlies left most people stumbling through their glasses.

The imaginary intense game didn't happen, and the scoring drama between Lillard and Link didn't take place.

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

It was as if the Trail Blazers had changed as a team, and after the game, the whole team was dead and without any energy.

And the words Lillard said at the press conference showed their frustration even more vividly.

People thought it was weird.

You must know that the Trailblazers in the last round of the game are still strong even in the desperate situation of falling behind 1-3.

Their comeback to victory for the Clippers doesn't know how many fans they attracted.

And now, the Trail Blazers have only lost one game, so why does that momentum seem to be gone?

People wondered, wondered why the Trail Blazers were so vulnerable this time.

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

But 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 on them is greater than the pressure on them from 3-1......

They may be able to bounce back from 3-1 down because 1-3 down is not entirely hopeless.

And the Grizzlies are precisely the ones who make the Trail Blazers see no hope......

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

So in the second game, the Trail Blazers really made a change.

In Game 2 of the series, the Trail Blazers pushed second-year guard C.J. McCollum to the starting lineup.

McCollum was almost non-existent in the regular season, averaging just 6.8 points per game and playing less than 20 minutes per game as a substitute for Matthews.

But in the first round of the playoffs, he did quite well. The average points per game skyrocketed from 6.8 points to 17 points, and the three-point shooting rate was as high as 47.8%!

In Game 4 of the series against the Clippers, McCollum also scored a career-high 26 points! That game also made him the first in Trail Blazers history since 1985. The first player since Colt to score at least 26 points off the bench in the playoffs.

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

But it's clear that Stotts is overestimating McCollum's offensive ability with the ball.

He's right, but if he wants to share some of Lillard's burden, it's not something that any guard player can do.

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

In the second game of the series, Lillard was still overwhelmed by the combined defense of Link and Conley. What about McCollum? He did play a role. At the beginning of the game, he hit two shots in a row.

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

Now C.J. McCollum can't get the upper hand in a one-on-one with Butler.

Butler has been considered a first-team player of the Year this season, and McCollum is just a small bench that has just made a name for himself.

But fortunately, in the first quarter of the game, with Aldridge's excellent performance, the Trail Blazers managed to survive.

Aldridge shot 4-of-6 in the first quarter, as if he had regained his former efficient form.

After the first quarter, the Trail Blazers only trailed the Grizzlies by 5 points. On the surface, it's more than a star and a half off from the previous one.

But there was no relaxation on Stotts' face, and he knew very well that the team was able to bite the score today, not because his adjustment had an effect, but simply because Aldridge was in good personal form.

However, a good manager can't expect a player who is in good form to win games.

Good state will come when it is said, but in the same way, it will also be said to go.

Relying on sudden good form to win is tantamount to gambling.

But so far in the game, Stotts didn't have a good solution to the problem. The Trail Blazers have just a few players, and no matter how clever their tactics are, they can't do anything beyond their capabilities.

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

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

Lillard was 2-of-6 and McCollum was 0-of-2......

The Trail Blazers' offense came to a complete standstill, and to add insult to injury, the Trail Blazers' defensive rebounds suddenly collapsed.

In the second quarter of the game, the Grizzlies relied on offensive rebounding opportunities to play a lot of secondary offense.

The margin widened, and the Trail Blazers, who trailed by only five points at the end of the first quarter, were already trailing by 17 points at halftime.

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

After the next three, it's just repeated killings.

In the end, the Trail Blazers couldn't cause problems for the Grizzlies. In the second game, they lost again 97-82.

Link only played three and a half quarters before going off the court, scoring just 24 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists.

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

The moment the game ended, Hubi. Bryndu joked, "The staff will have to check the hoops at the Federal Express Arena, I guess the Trail Blazers have smashed the hoops over." ”

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

In the whole game, the Trail Blazers shot 77 times and hit 47 irons, and the team's shooting rate was only 39.0%!

Aldridge was 7-of-20 from the field and shot 35 percent. Lillard was 5-of-16 from the field and shot 31.3 percent.

McCollum, who had high hopes, was even more "excellent", shooting 3-of-13 from the field and shooting only 23.1%!

Except for two consecutive goals at the beginning of the game, he was playing iron for almost the entire game.

The pioneer can be said to have a new height of iron and a new temperament.

Not only that, but the Grizzlies also used 12 frontcourt rebounds to score 29 points on the second offense today...... As it turns out, the gap between the Grizzlies and the Trail Blazers is actually bigger than people think.

Lillard is just one aspect, and elsewhere, the Trail Blazers don't necessarily have the upper hand.

After the game, a reporter asked Stotts, "The next game is going back to Portland, back to the Moda Center." Do you think your team has what it takes to change the tide at home? Will you do the miracle of the first round again? ”

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

He smiled awkwardly, then silently turned away.

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

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

On May 11, at the Moda Center, the Grizzlies ended Game 4 of the second round of the series. It also ended the Portland Trail Blazers' season journey.

They had a glorious time, but the end was very miserable.

Lillard averaged 21.0 points per game and shot 43.4 percent from the field during the regular season. 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 and shot 46.6 percent from the field during the regular season. He averaged just 18.7 points per game and shot 41.3 percent from the field......

With just one move, the grizzly bear made the magical pioneer reveal his true form.

Link didn't score 30 points in any of the series because he didn't have to......

After the game, Lillard hugged Link as usual.

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

He thought he and his team might be able to take the Grizzlies in one go, but now it seems naïve.

Looking at Lillard's depressed figure, Link shook his head. Although he doesn't want his friends to be like this, he can't help it, this is competitive sports.

Link was going to say a lot 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-game press conference!

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

By the time they went to the postgame press conference, reporters were no longer concerned about the Trail Blazers and Lillard.

The only question they asked the most, "In two days, the results of the regular season MVP will be revealed." Link, do you think you can win this award for the rest of your life? ”

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

And as the MVP award approaches, the friction between Link and Curry, the Grizzlies and the Warriors has also escalated to a white-hot stage......