Consecutive victories can become a burden, and when everyone expected the Trail Blazers to achieve the best start to the season in history, losing to the Lakers timely relieved the players of some pressure.
The even better news was that, at the beginning of the season, the frequent traveling finally came to a brief pause, and the Trail Blazers would have a week to play games in their own city.
They could sleep comfortably at home, spend a steady, relaxing day, then drive to Memorial Coliseum in the evening for two hours of play, and go home after a shower.
No need to stay in hotels, no need to rush for flights, let alone wake up early; everything could proceed at a leisurely pace.
Ramsay gave the players half a day off, then organized a two-hour training session on the afternoon of the 10th.
Since the beginning of the season, the Trail Blazers had been running ragged and hadn't been able to organize a proper training session for some time.
