Chapter 97: The Tumor

Riley's timeout was indeed not timely enough.

Rationally, he knew that this game was a must-win for the Lakers.

But emotionally, he hadn't reached that point of desperation.

The previous frenzy of kicking doors at home had caused his emotions to peak too early.

Now, with a bit of that release, Riley wasn't very on his game tonight.

During the timeout, Riley loudly reminded his players to stay tight, to clamp down on the Trail Blazers on both offense and defense.

Though he said that, Riley himself seemed to lack confidence.

Having been uprooted at home, the initiative in the series was no longer in the Lakers' hands.

Defensively, aside from heavy double-teaming, they found no way to handle Gan Guoyang.

Jabbar's aging was a critical weakness for the Lakers; without a challenger in the paint, the Lakers could continue their domination in the Western Conference.

Once a new inside dominator like Gan Guoyang emerged, Riley and the Lakers had less and less confidence.