After Off Day, a Day Off : Ramsay Plans to Have His Trail Blazers Well-Rested for Game 2 on Tuesday

The temptation may have been strong, but Portland Trail Blazer Coach Jack Ramsay wasn’t going to change his mind. He had already told his players before Game 1 of their playoff series against the Lakers that they would not practice today, and he stuck to that plan even after a 24-point loss Saturday at the Forum.

“I do what the team needs,” Ramsay said. “We need a day’s rest. We just finished a tough, bruising series against Dallas and had to come right here to play today. We’ll go back to work Monday.”

Much work is to be done if the Trail Blazers want to beat the Lakers Tuesday night in Game 2. But Ramsay feels that one reason for the lopsided result Saturday was that the Trail Blazers were simply worn out after eliminating Dallas Thursday night in four close and intense games.

Of the four games in the physical and emotionally draining Portland-Dallas series, one went to double-overtime, another to overtime, and Thursday night’s series clincher was decided on a last-second shot.

So, the Trail Blazers flew to Los Angeles Friday afternoon a happy but tired team.

“There is a little fatigue involved,” Ramsay said. “I didn’t have time for game preparation we needed, and the players didn’t have the rest time they needed. The Lakers are playing very well, and you have to be prepared to play them.”

After their poor showing Saturday, you’d think Trail Blazer players would be tempted to stay holed up in their hotel rooms today and brood. But the mood in the locker room Saturday was surprisingly upbeat, probably because they don’t have to return to the Forum for practice until Monday.

“We’ll just relax in our rooms and watch the other playoff games and try to forget about basketball for a while,” said forward Mychal Thompson, who didn’t explain how it was possible to watch other NBA games and not think about basketball. “We need the time off to rest up and then start getting ready for Tuesday.”

It was obvious from Portland’s play, guard Jim Paxson said, that they wished Game 1 had been scheduled for any day but Saturday.

“You really have to be prepared for the Lakers,” Paxson said. “You need more than one day. The Lakers had three days off before this. I think we’ll be ready Tuesday.”

Even though Portland’s players have the day off, don’t expect Ramsay and his staff to lounge at the beach all day--unless they decide to diagram plays in the sand. It was obvious Saturday that many alterations are needed, and the Trail Blazers will undoubtedly be working all weekend trying to figure out a way to stop the Lakers from dominating the way they did Saturday.

Portland played poorly in almost every aspect of the game. The Trail Blazers shot only 39.4%, committed 19 turnovers and were outrebounded, 63-52. Before Chuck Nevitt time, the Lakers had built as much as a 33-point lead and were en route to an even bigger rout than they recorded in the Phoenix series.

Nearly all the Trail Blazer regulars shot poorly from the field. Clyde Drexler was 1 of 10, Darnell Valentine 1 of 7, Kiki Vandeweghe 8 of 20 and Thompson 6 of 13. Only rookie guard Steve Colter (11 of 15 for 26 points) received praise from Ramsay afterward.

“One guy can’t do it for you,” Ramsay said. “You need it from everyone. . . . The biggest factor was that they played a great game. If they are going to play a great game, you have to play a super game. We didn’t do that.”

Maybe it was the fatigue, but the Trail Blazers were all but run off the court by the Lakers’ explosive fast break. After going four games against the Mavericks’ methodical offense, Portland was swept away by the Lakers.

“It’s a big adjustment for us,” Thompson said. “Playing the Mavericks is like playing chess. The Lakers are like the 100-yard dash.” Added Vandeweghe: “Dallas plays slowdown. The Lakers play a fast-break game. I think we were still playing a slowdown game. At least, it looked like a slowdown. Hopefully, this isn’t indicative of the rest of the series.”