Versatile Point Forward

Chapter 244 The Fateful Showdown

Back in Portland, the Trail Blazers players are undergoing recovery training under the arrangement of the trainer, while paying close attention to another set of Western Conference semifinal matchups.The Lakers, who replaced Artest with Trevor Ariza, were terrific early in the season and once again made the series pointless, 4-2 after beating the Thunder 4-1 The Jazz became another team that reached the Western Conference Finals.Following the tiebreaker in the Western Conference semifinals last season, the two teams met again on the stage of the playoffs, which is what fans love to see.

However, this does not mean that the two are a fateful duel. This can be traced back to the last time the Blazers reached the Western Conference Finals, when their opponent was the Lakers. In the 1999-2000 season, the Blazers scored 59 wins and 23 losses and ranked second in the West, while the Lakers ranked first in the West with a record of 67 wins and 15 losses.At that time, the first round of the playoffs was still a best-of-five series. In the first round, the Trail Blazers easily eliminated Garnett-led Timberwolves 3-1. The Lakers fought hard for five games before eliminating the magnificent offense under Adelman. In the second round, back to the best-of-seven series, the two sides eliminated their opponents with the same score. The Lakers defeated the Suns led by Hardaway and Kidd, and the Blazers eliminated Malone, Stockton and Huo The Jazz led by Nacek finally met in the Western Conference Finals.

At that time, the main players of the Lakers were O'Neal who had matured and Kobe who was still improving, but the Blazers' lineup was even more star-studded. Bonzi Wells, the inside line is even stronger, there is "Roaring God" Rasheed Wallace, and two European inside line giants Sabonis and Schramf, even the talented O'Neal has to sit for a long time On the bench, he averaged only 12.3 minutes per game.Strictly speaking, the overall strength of the Blazers should be higher than that of the Lakers, but the "OK combination" of the Lakers is more dominant. The trend of the Western Conference Finals also reflects the strength of the two sides. .

In the first game, the Trail Blazers had six players in double figures, but O'Neal made 25 of 14 shots and 27 of 13 free throws. He scored 41 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists. Kobe, Rice and Horry also scored. Double, the Lakers beat the Blazers 109 to 94 and got a good start.But the Blazers immediately counterattacked. Their defense was very successful. The Lakers only scored in double figures with the "OK combination", and they only scored 35 points in total. This is not a true reflection of their strength at all, and Rasheed Wallace The Blazers, Steve Smith and Pippen all scored 20+, and Pippen also grabbed 10 rebounds. Wells also scored 12 points off the bench. The Blazers beat the Lakers 106-77.

After the series came to Portland, the Blazers lost their first home game. Although "Little Flying Squirrel", Wallace, Smith, Pippen and Sabonis all scored in double figures, O'Neal scored 26 points and 12 points. rebounds, Kobe scored 25 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists in a quasi-triple double and hit a quasi-lore. With the Blazers missing the last three-pointer, the Lakers retreated in the Rose Garden, winning 93 to 91 Narrowly beat the opponent.The Blazers' second home game was still conquered by their opponents. Even Wallace scored 34 points and a large double-double with 13 rebounds. Si also stood up and scored 39 points together. The Lakers made another victory in Portland and rewritten the big score to 3-1.

Just when everyone thought that the Lakers could advance to the Finals with their heads held high, the Trail Blazers who were pushed to the edge of the cliff broke out with amazing fighting power.At the Staples Center, O'Neal scored 31 points and an astonishing 21 rebounds amid the cheers of the home crowd. Kobe Bryant sent 17 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists, but the Lakers' three-pointers were only 22. %, Wallace and Pippen scored 22 points each, Smith and Sabonis also scored in double figures, and the Blazers pulled back 96-88 in the away game.After returning to the Rose Garden Arena, four of the Blazers' starting five scored in double figures. Wells, who was on the bench, scored the team's second-highest 20 points. Defeating the Lakers 103 to 93 unexpectedly dragged the series into the tiebreaker.

In the last game, Kobe replaced O'Neal as the team's leading scorer. He scored 19 points, 9 rebounds and 25 assists on 11 of 7 shots. Scoring 23 points, Wells, who broke out in the last game, seemed lost in the Staples Center. The Blazers bench only scored 13 points, including Wells' 7 points and Schramf's 6 points.Although Wallace scored 30 points, only Smith and Pippen scored in double figures besides him.In fact, at the end of the first three quarters, the Blazers still led 71 to 58, but in the last quarter they felt suddenly cold, and they were beaten by the Lakers 31 to 13, and finally lost the game 84 to 89, and also lost the entire series. game.The Lakers, who made it past the Western Conference Finals, finally easily defeated the Pacers 4-2 in the Finals and won the first championship in the "OK" era, thus starting the "OK" dynasty belonging to the Lakers.

After ten full seasons, these two teams once again stood at the gate of the Western Conference Finals, which can be said to be a fateful matchup.Maybe the old fans of the Lakers didn't feel much, because they had too much time since the late 20s, and for them, the Blazers were just a passer-by in the Lakers' long dynastic career.But it’s different for Trail Blazers fans. This is the closest they’ve come to a championship since losing to the Bulls in the 90-1991 Finals. The lineup is indeed luxurious.

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

(End of this chapter)