LAS VEGAS – The Texas Rattlers, of course, would have loved to have had the PBR Team Series Championship two weeks ago.

The Rattlers were the hottest team in the league at the end of the regular season, ripping off 10 consecutive victories on its way to earning the No. 2 seed for the PBR Team Series Championship.

However, coach Cody Lambert doesn’t look at his team’s current run of success as simply a “streak.”

Lambert explained earlier this week, instead, that the Rattlers have to understand they are now just riding up to their own capabilities.

This 10-game run is not a streak, but it is who the Rattlers are.

“The guys need to know that this is how good they are,” Lambert said. “It is not a streak. This is how they ride. If you understand that, you don’t visit the zone every now and then. You live in the zone.”

The mental preparation is something Texas has continued to press on its roster during the two-week break leading up to the team’s second-round matchup against No. 5 Arizona Ridge Riders on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena (11 p.m. ET CBS Sports Network).

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“The week leading to this has been equal kind of to past World Finals, but it is a total, different feel because, as I was telling (assistant coach) Cade Swor, this is the longest two weeks of the year because we felt like we were ready.

“The guys have to not get distracted, stay focused, and don’t let things out of your control bother you.”

In fact, it is something Lambert used to help Swor work on in preparation for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo during Swor’s tie-down roping career. Swor qualified for seven NFRs, and he knows it can be hard at times to turn the switch back on at the NFR during the two-month break before the NFR.

Of course, two weeks is a lot less than two months, but the preparation can be similar.

“I would get ready for the NFR by staying at Cody’s house,” Swor said. “I was pretty streaky and then I decided I needed to stay mentally where I needed to be all the time, and I had way more success then.

“Nobody wanted this (break). Obviously, we rather had come out here and finished it up right away. But we will finish it up this week. Those two weeks helped some guys get healthy. As far as mentally, nothing has changed.”

One of those riders is Brady Oleson, who has since been cleared from his August neck injury to compete, and he has been inserted into Texas’ starting lineup on Saturday night. However, Australian Brady Fielder had an issue with his visa, and he is stuck in Australia, unable to compete for the Rattlers this weekend in Las Vegas.

Texas vs. Arizona Starting Lineups Alisson de Souza (ARR) vs. Crossover Joao Ricardo Vieira (TR) vs. Cliff Hanger Eduardo Aparecido (ARR) vs. Black Tie Cody Jesus (TR) vs. Harold Genuine’s Risk Vitor Losnake (ARR) vs. Mike's Effect Rafael Jose de Brito (TR) vs. Tested's Viper Keyshawn Whitehorse (ARR) vs. Cold Creek Brady Oleson (TR) vs. Kid Knapper Luciano de Castro (ARR) vs. War Dress Daniel Keeping (TR) vs. Napoleon

Cody Jesus has a rematch against Harold’s Genuine Risk, who Jesus is 2-for-2 aboard.

Texas leads the season series against Arizona 3-1, but three of the four games were decided by less than 4.25 points.

Lambert has seen his team continue to evolve and gel throughout the season, and he believes that chemistry could be a benefit this weekend in Vegas.

“I feel like we have a vibe now that I was hoping for in the beginning of the year, and right after the draft I said we have the quietest, most blue-collar team that we could ever have,” Lambert said. “We had to get better, and we had to learn, and we learned to adjust and adapt and have a humble team that is determined and focused and rides with love in their hearts.

“We pretty much fell in love with the team we had and the situation we are in.”

Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko

Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media