The Trail Blazers players who returned to Portland were watching the other Western Conference semifinals matchup while recovering from their trainers. The Lakers www.biquge.info who replaced Ariza with Artest were terrifying after an early season run-in, once again making the series meaningless, and after beating the Thunder 4-2, they eliminated the Jazz 4-1 to become another team to reach the Western Conference Finals. After last season's Western Conference semifinals, the two teams met again on the playoff stage, which is what fans will love to see.

However, this does not mean that the two are fateful matchups, which can be traced back to the last time the Trail Blazers reached the Western Conference Finals, when they faced the Lakers. In the 1999-2000 season, the Trail Blazers finished second in the West with a 59-23 record, and the Lakers were the first in the West, with a 67-15 record. At that time, the first round of the playoffs was still a best-of-five system, and the Trail Blazers easily eliminated Garnett's Timberwolves 3-1 in the first round, and the Lakers fought hard for five games to eliminate the Kings who had a gorgeous offense under Adelman; In the second round, the two sides eliminated their opponents by the same score, with the Lakers defeating the Suns led by Hardaway and Kidd, and the Trail Blazers eliminated by the Jazz led by Malone, Stockton and Hornacek, and finally the two sides met in the Western Conference Finals.

At that time, the Lakers' main players were the mature O'Neal and the still improving Kobe, but the Trail Blazers' lineup was more star-studded, "Little Squirrel" Stoudemire, Pippen in the final prime, the hot-tempered but powerful Bonzi Wells, the interior line was even stronger, there were "Roaring Heavenly Venerable" Rasheed Wallace, and two European interior giants Sabonis and Schramf, and even the talented O'Neal Jr. had to sit on the bench for a long time, averaging only 12.3 minutes per game. Strictly speaking, the overall strength of the Trail Blazers should be above the Lakers, but the Lakers' "OK combination" is more dominant, and the trend of the Western Conference Finals also reflects the strength comparison between the two sides, and the whole round of the series is inseparable.

In the first game, the Trail Blazers had six double-doubles, but O'Neal shot 14 of 25 and 13 of 27 free throws, scoring 41 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists, and Kobe, Rice and Horry also scored double-doubles, and the Lakers beat the Trail Blazers 109-94 and got off to a good start. But the Trail Blazers immediately counterattacked, and their defense was very successful, the Lakers only had the "OK combination" score double-doubles, and only scored a total of 35 points, which is not a true reflection of their strength at all, while Rashid Wallace, Steve Smith and Pippen all scored 20+, and Pippen also grabbed 10 rebounds, and Wells also scored 12 points off the bench, and the Trail Blazers beat the Lakers 106-77.

After the series came to Portland, the Trail Blazers lost their first home court, although "Flying Squirrel", Wallace, Smith, Pippen and Sabonis all scored double-doubles, but O'Neal had 26 points and 12 rebounds, and Kobe Bryant cut a quasi-triple-double of 25 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists and hit a quasi-shootout, and as the Trail Blazers missed the final three-pointer, the Lakers retreated from the Rose Garden and narrowly won 93-91. The Trail Blazers' second home court was still conquered by the opponent, even if Wallace cut a big double-double of 34 points and 13 rebounds, it didn't help, and the Lakers in addition to "OK", Ron Harper and Glenn Rice also stepped up to score 39 points, and the Lakers scored another game in Portland to rewrite the score to 3-1.

Just when everyone thought that the Lakers would be able to advance to the Finals, the Trail Blazers, who were pushed to the edge of the cliff, burst out with amazing combat effectiveness. At the Staples Center, O'Neal scored 31 points and a staggering 21 rebounds to the cheers of the home crowd, while Bryant had 17 points, five rebounds and four assists, but the Lakers shot just 22 percent from three-point range, Wallace and Pippen each scored 22 points, and Smith and Sabonis also scored in double figures as the Trail Blazers pulled one back 96-88 on the road. Back at the Rose Garden Arena, four of the Trail Blazers' starting five scored in double figures, with Wells off the bench scoring a team-high 20 points as the Trail Blazers beat the Lakers 103-93 on their home court to unexpectedly drag the series into a tiebreaker.

In the final game, Bryant replaced O'Neal as the team's leading scorer, and he scored a quasi-triple-double of 25 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists on 9-of-19 shooting, with Brian Shaw and Horry scoring a total of 23 points off the bench. Although Wallace scored 30 points, only Smith and Pippen scored in double figures. In fact, at the end of the first three quarters, the Trail Blazers still had a large lead of 71-58, but in the final quarter they suddenly felt cold, and were beaten 31-13 by the Lakers, and finally lost the game 84-89, and also lost the entire series. The Lakers, who passed the Western Conference Finals, finally easily defeated the Pacers 4-2 in the Finals and won the first championship of the "OK" era, thus starting the "OK" dynasty belonging to the Lakers.

Ten full seasons later, the two teams are once again on the doorstep of the Western Conference Finals, which can be described as a fateful matchup. Maybe the Lakers' longtime fans don't feel that much, because they have been strong for so much time since the late '90s that the Trail Blazers are just a passing guest in the Lakers' long dynasty. But for Trail Blazers fans, this is their closest season to a championship since losing to the Bulls in the 1991-92 Finals, and although it is a bit far away, at least there is hope, and the Trail Blazers' roster is indeed luxurious.

But the Lakers ruined the dreams of the Trail Blazers from management to players and even fans, if they were the ones who reached the Finals at that time, they should also be able to lift the championship trophy in the face of the Pacers led by Reggie Miller, you must know that since joining the NBA in 1970, the Trail Blazers only won the championship in the 1976-77 season led by Bill Walton, so the Lakers can be said to have a deep hatred with the Trail Blazers.