Before the start of the regular season with the Lakers, Portland was in the midst of the team's most struggling period. The Crusade went on a 3-game streak, losing to the Hornets, 76ers and Cavaliers in quick succession, and their record plummeted. In addition to the overall loss of control at both ends of the attack and defense, what makes the team even more uncomfortable is that the main player Damian Lillard has been languishing since the beginning of the new season.
The numbers don't lie, in the six games played in October, Lillard averaged only 18.3 points per game, shooting 34.9%, and the three-point shooting rate on which he became famous was only a dismal 23.2%. Not since entering the NBA in 2012 has Lillard performed so badly, and apart from assists, almost all of the Blazers' star stats are heading for career troughs.
In the previous battle with the Lakers, the Blazers finally defeated the Pacers, who also had a weak start to the new season, and finally ended the losing streak. But in that game, Lillard scored just four points on 2-of-13 shooting and 0-of-6 from three-point range. If it weren't for the strength of his teammates, Lillard would inevitably have to accept a new round of verbal criticism after the game. After the game against the Pacers, the new Blazers coach Billups still expressed his support for the number one star: "He is one of the most outstanding players of all time, he is not 38, 39 years old now, he is still at his peak. I've been involved in the sport for a long time before, and I've been through it myself. ”
But not long after Billups' comforting words came out, Lillard and the Trail Blazers began to encounter a whole new situation. Just before the game with the Lakers began, the US media exposed the news that the Blazers had commissioned an independent investigation agency to start an investigation into the team's general manager, Neil Olche. The reason the Trailblazers took this action was that they believed that Olse had done a lot of wrongdoing in his years of work.
As soon as this move came out, combined with the Blazers' poor record after the opening season, people could not help but sweat for this team. Hundreds of years ago, Cao Xueqin borrowed Jia Tanchun's mouth and said a sober saying: "It can be known that such a large family, if it is killed from the outside, cannot be killed for a while, which is what the ancients once said, 'a hundred-footed insect, dead but not stiff'." You must first commit suicide from home to destroy yourself in order to be defeated! ”
But what gives Lillard and the Trail Blazers a sigh of relief is that their next opponent is the Los Angeles Lakers at a time when the team is suffering from internal and external troubles. If you're looking for a team that's more chaotic than the Trail Blazers after the start of the new season, the Lakers are definitely on the list. Coupled with the injury of James before the two sides of the war, Davis withdrew from the game in this battle, and the Blazers finally poured their recent bitterness into the Lakers and won a hearty victory.
Lillard personally, under the Lakers' loose defensive system, has finally gained some respite. He shot 9-of-19 and shot more than 40 percent from a single game for the third time this season. And the three-pointer of 6 of 14 shots is the second most accurate game he has shot this season. The data of 25 points, 3 rebounds and 6 assists, placed on Lillard in previous seasons, can only be regarded as mediocre, but for Lillard this season, this single-game score is already his second highest personal height this season.
With this victory, the Blazers also squeezed out the Lakers and occupied the eighth position in the West, although the off-court problems are still unresolved, but the victory on the court can always relieve some nervousness.
"The game is still going on, our work will not stop, playing the game is what we players can do," Lillard said after the game against the Lakers, "what I can control is to do my job and prepare for the game." I've been here for 10 years and have always been a big part of this team. So, my next job is to continue to do what I'm supposed to do, and that's something I can control now. ”
What Lillard could not control was naturally the team's investigation of general manager Olchet. According to sources, the reason why the Blazers want to take action against Olchet this time is because the team has recently received many reports from non-player team employees, who all said that the team's current working environment is very bad, and they have also pointed the finger at The leader of the team management, Olshe.
As the "founder" of the current Blazers, Olchet immediately changed the team after taking over the Blazers in 2012. His first major decision after taking over the team was to select Lillard, who was not well known at the time, in the 2012 draft, which can be described as the opening of a new era for the Blazers. However, anyone familiar with Olchet will know that the famous manager in the league has always had a bad temper, which also laid the groundwork for this incident today.
For Lillard, Olsey could be said to have met him. And as a player, he can't meddle in too many things at the top of the team. "I think the best thing for me is to focus on leading the team forward," Lillard said, "we're all here to play, and my job is to take on the role of point guard and be captain of the team." I will continue to do the same next. ”
At this sensitive time, the Blazers' players and coaches can't say much about such an event. For example, the new coach Billups, who was chosen by The Crowd this summer by TheRochelis, cannot openly express the attitude of "taking sides" at such a time. "I think it's obvious that this is an unfortunate situation," Billups said, "and all I know, like the news you read, is all I know." Other than that, I really can't say much else. ”
Carmelo Anthony, who is now a Lakers player, has the same attitude and saying. Although he is no longer playing in the Blazers, when he was idle at home and no other team wanted him, it was Olshe who threw an olive branch to him on behalf of the Blazers, allowing Anthony to continue his NBA career. And now the Trailblazers' internal investigation has not released any results, so Anthony is now an outsider, and it is even more difficult to say anything.
"I also just heard this from you," Anthony told reporters interviewing, "I don't know anything about it." Yeah, I was surprised when you first said that, I really don't know what's going on. ”
The Blazers' investigation of the general manager will continue, but fortunately, after winning this battle with the Lakers, they finally got a temporary respite on the court. "For the team, there are so many related topics to discuss, so it can be a distraction for the team," Billups said, "but I'm in the office, I'm still with my assistant coach team, I don't think about those things at all, my attention is focused on the game." ”
Therefore, Lillard and Billups will presumably thank the Lakers for this "charcoal in the snow", such a victory, so that they can continue to shield the management of all kinds of distractions, and really focus on the court.