The Portland Trail Blazers once again appear at 20th of 30 NBA teams in the latest power rankings by Law Murray of The Athletic (subscription required) that does not include Portland’s most recent two losses:
20th – Portland Trail Blazers (12-16)
Last ranking: 20
In the last week: W vs SAC, W at SAC
Offensive rating: 113.5 (18th place)
Defensive rating: 116.4 (21st place)The Big Question, revisited: Can Shaedon Sharpe coexist with the rest of Portland’s creators? In a word, yes, Sharpe can fit in
offensively. Sharpe got off to a slow start, and he’s still a poor decision maker (2.5 assists, 3.0 turnovers per game) with an inconsistent jumper (32.6 percent 3s). But Sharpe is up to career bests 22.0 points and 5.0 free throws per game, and he has scored 20-plus points in a season-best four straight games. Portland mainly needs to get point guard Jrue Holiday back.
This puts the Blazers in Murray’s Tier 4: Not the Tier to Fear, below Tier 2: In a Good Place and above the last tier, Tier 5: Basement Floor. Murray includes the following caveats about his rankings:
1) These are my subjective rankings. I will consider a variety of objective measures, but it’s my final call.
2) These rankings are not just a review of the past week — we are projecting forward as well, so it is a balance of the two.
3) These are subjective, but not biased. There are no agendas in the Power Rankings, and we strive for an inclusive meritocracy
4) The one quality that these rankings possess: “Ruthless aggression.”
5) Enjoy the games, and enjoy the rankings, please!
The Blazers are 3-2 in their last five games, with two fight-back-late-only-to-lose losses to the Detroit Pistons and the Orlando Magic, and have a few days off before taking on the Los Angeles Clippers (ranked on this list at 26th) on Fri. Dec. 26 at the Moda Center.
