7:30 PM, Rose Garden Arena, the regular season first matchup between the Trail Blazers and the Lakers.
The Lakers have won all four of their previous games. Since Phil Jackson took over as the Lakers' head coach in June, he immediately started transforming the team.
The Lakers built by Silver Fox Harris have always performed well in the regular season but falter when it comes to the crucial playoffs.
They tend to collapse at critical moments and perform erratically in tough games.
This is why the Lakers have been consistently swept or gentleman-swept in recent seasons, collapsing at the first blow.
Phil Jackson has not pretended to be mysterious in addressing this issue with the Lakers, claiming that his Triangle Offense or Eastern philosophy can enhance the team's fighting spirit.
