It happened in Tuesday's early morning hours, when the Blazers' bus rolled into Milwaukee from its 90-minute commute from Chicago, and a dejected and frustrated team checked into its downtown hotel.
Only thing is, two players didn't make it to their rooms.
Wesley Matthews and Armon Johnson went to play one-on-one basketball: Matthews to clear his head of frustrating thoughts and Johnson because, well, because somebody was playing basketball and he didn't want to be left out.
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It was Matthews' idea. After an impressive preseason, the Blazers' big offseason signing has been upset at his play in the first week of the regular season, especially after his performance in Chicago, when he had five points and zero contributions in the areas where he makes his mark: rebounds, steals, assists.
So when he got off the bus, he had only one feeling.
"A bunch of disappointment," Matthews said. "I didn't feel like I was being me. I wasn't playing aggressive, wasn't being assertive, wasn't moving the ball, wasn't playing confident. I had to start clearing my head, getting back to what I do."
