The away win over the Lakers is of great significance to the Trail Blazers, which not only allows them to further widen the gap with the Lakers in the Western Conference rankings and consolidate the first position in the West, but also greatly improves their confidence in the whole team.

This is a dignified victory, the main lineups of both sides are exhausted, the substitutes play well, everyone does their best, and finally the Trail Blazers overcome the opponent, I have to say that this is the embodiment of the strong strength of the Trail Blazers.

The self-confidence of a strong team is being built in the hearts of the Trail Blazers players, and this is the only way for a championship team to step on the corpse of the previous king to stand in a higher position.

Of course, it's too early to talk about the Trail Blazers surpassing the Lakers, this is just a regular season game, and the Trail Blazers didn't fall behind in the regular season last season, but in the playoffs, they were beaten 4:1 by the Lakers, which fully shows that the playoffs and the regular season are two worlds.

The Trail Blazers' players understand this, too, and as the team begins to adjust in preparation for the playoffs, Ramsey has begun to tweak the roster and examine fringe players.

Due to the relatively large injuries that the Trail Blazers have suffered this season, one main player is reimbursed, and the other main players are also stop-and-go, so the team's lineup rotation is slightly chaotic, and there is no very solid starting lineup and stable rotation routine.

For a team that aspires to win the championship, every detail in the team must be taken into account, in the rapidly changing NBA arena, many times it is one or two details that determine the outcome of the game, if you do it well, you will win the game, and if you don't do it well, you will go home.

The problems with the starting lineup are mainly in the point guard position, and Valentine's reimbursement has given Colt and Porter a good opportunity to work, and the two newcomers have shown maturity beyond their years on the court, supporting the team's backcourt playmaking in the absence of Big Brother.

Among them, Colter is relatively more sophisticated, and his breakthrough is quite sharp, in the case of Drexler's breakthrough is more tendonous, often can play a miraculous effect in the offense, this season, except for the bad game played at the beginning of the season because of drug abuse, the later games Colt has repeatedly played amazingly, including magical performances at critical moments.

Compared with Colt, Porter is more talented, after all, he is a first-round pick, his physical condition is obviously better than Colt, he is a tall point guard, the tactical execution ability is quite strong, and the heart is also very big, able to shoot some decisive key shots, and sometimes some balls are thrown, Ramsey's heart can't stand it.

As for how to choose between the two, Ramsey also took turns to put them in the starting line-up and pair them with the other four ironclad starters to see how it worked.

In the game against Seattle on the 21st, Colter started and scored 8 points and 1 assist, and Porter came off the bench with 6 points and 3 assists; No. 23 against the Kings, Colter started, 7 points and 8 assists, Porter came off the bench with 10 points and 4 assists; No. 25 played against the Kings again, Porter started, 12 points and 4 assists, and Colter came off the bench with 8 points and 2 assists.

The two alternated as the team's starting point guards, and the two were really similar in performance, whether it was scoring, assisting, or dealing with some problems on the court, the two young men tried their best to compete for the starting position, and strive to be perfect.

In the game against the Warriors on the 29th, the game was surprisingly quite anxious, and Steve Colt, as the starting point guard, stayed on the court for 40 minutes, scoring 25 points, 4 assists and 2 steals, and his performance was quite impressive.

However, the Trail Blazers lost the game by one point due to a fatal passing error by Colter in the end, and lost unexpectedly on the road.

After the game, Colter was quite frustrated, because he believed that this fatal mistake not only cost the team a game, but also cost him a starting spot in the playoffs.

Porter, who played only 18 minutes in the game, also contributed 8 points, 4 assists and 2 steals, except for a slightly lower shooting percentage, he was more efficient in all aspects, which made Colter feel that he probably didn't have a chance.

Ramsey actually has a headache for this problem, the two newcomers are very good, and the fit with the team is good, no matter who starts it, Ramsay thinks there is no problem.

But because of this, it became a question of who to start.

After losing to the Warriors, the atmosphere in the Trail Blazers is still very calm, after all, winning and losing is a common thing, and for some strong teams, they would rather lose to a weak team in the regular season than try their best to lose to a strong team, because the weak team will not meet you in the playoffs.

Therefore, the training on March 30 ended relatively early, and the team did not practice because of the loss.

However, there are still some players who consciously stay and practice, including Colt and Graham Potter, who are now in a competitive state, but they are also improving together.

Gan Guoyang naturally continued to stay and practice as usual, but this time he stood on the sidelines and began to referee Colter and Porter one-on-one, and the two guys began to fight on the field.

Colt is more flexible and experienced, Porter is really difficult to defend against Colte, and Porter's main attack is the jump shot, which is not very advantageous in one-on-one, but Porter is physically stronger and taller, once the shot is not good, he begins to use his physical advantage to run Colt away.

"Resist, use the lower plate, don't use your elbow to push, use the crotch, you'll be blown foul like this...... Good ball, but if it's a game, you're going to get a shot like that, so you've got to lean back. Gan Guoyang is not only a referee, but also constantly giving guidance to the two.

At this time, Ramsey walked to Gan Guoyang's side, he didn't leave early today to go to the hospital to see his wife.

"Mr. Ramsay, you're still here." Gan Guoyang was also a little surprised to see Ramsey.

'Yes, she's doing well, I'm going to spend a little more time with the team...... You two go ahead! Ramsey responded to Gan and asked Colt and Potter to continue the one-on-one.

"It's really hard to pick a starter, both of them are very hard, and they both want to be in the starter."

"That's right, what do you think of Gan, who do you think should be the starting point guard?" Ramsey appears to have sought Gan Guoyang's opinion.

"It's so hard, they're both great, and they're both young, why don't you ask Valentine, is that guy's legs thick again?" Gan Guoyang shook his head and said.

'I asked Valentine, and Valentin is more inclined to Potter, he's more talented, taller, stronger than Colter, and maybe he'll be better than Valentine in the future. It seems that Ramsay has already asked Valentine.

"Yes, Porter does have more talent, physicality, basketball IQ, learning ability, and he was drafted in the first round after all. But...... I'd still prefer to start with Colter. ”

At this time, Colt broke through Porter and made a successful rebound.

"Tell me your reasoning."

"One, experience, Porter hasn't been through the playoffs, and Colt was pretty good in the playoffs last season, you know, the regular season and the playoffs are two worlds; Second, Colter has a stronger determination, the whole team knows that he is on drugs, and now that he has quit, he has embarked on a new path, and I believe that he has a desire to win; Thirdly, Colt fed me the ball better than Potter. Gan Guoyang's one-two-three words are the Tao, but it gives people the feeling that the last reason is the real point.

Ramsey glanced at Gan Guoyang, but thinking about what Gan Guoyang said also made sense, Colt feeding Gan Guoyang the ball is indeed very good, better than Valentine, and the cooperation between Potter and Gan Guoyang is not so skilled.

Combined with the question of experience, Ramsay also has the answer in his heart.

………………

March ended quickly, and the Trail Blazers' schedule in March was relatively easy, much less dense than the schedule in February and January, and the Trail Blazers also successfully passed this critical period, winning 10-2 throughout March and continuing to lead the West.

By April, the league had finally entered its final phase, with the playoff powerhouses beginning to adjust and teams on the fringes of the playoffs battling it out for a playoff spot.

The situation in the West is generally clear, the Trail Blazers have left the Lakers and Rockets behind, only at the end of the season they do not have an eight-game losing streak, they will definitely enter the playoffs as the first in the West, which will also be their first return to the first place in the West since the 1977-1978 season.

The Trail Blazers' opponents in the first round of the playoffs will be the Spurs, the Suns and the Kings, of which the Suns have little chance of catching up with the eighth-place Spurs, as long as the Kings do not fall, the eighth place in the West will be the Spurs.

The Lakers are still keeping up with the Trail Blazers and putting pressure on them, but due to the division rules, they can only finish third in the West, and their first-round opponent is likely to be the tough Jazz.

The competition in the East is more fierce than in the West, with the battle for eighth place between the Bulls and the Cavaliers, separated by a fraction of a second.

In order to compete for the playoffs, Jordan, who was reimbursed at the beginning of the season, returned early and began to participate in the team's last month of regular season, but the team limited Jordan's playing time, which also made Jordan very dissatisfied.

Milwaukee is firmly in second place, and the millennium quadrant is likely to meet the 76ers in third place in the playoffs, which will be their best chance to break the losing streak.

The selection of the major awards of the regular season is also in full swing, and the media is also building up the hype for the upcoming playoff battle.

The brutal elimination of the new year is about to begin.