With one week remaining in the regular season, the Portland Trail Blazers are trending upward. They’ve gone 8-2 in their last 10 games and are tied for eighth place in the Western Conference. Plus, for the first time since 2021, the Blazers are guaranteed to get some postseason action — and at least one home postseason game, at that!
However, even with those positive developments, the Blazers are still stuck in neutral in NBA.com’s weekly power rankings. For the fourth consecutive week, NBA.com’s John
Schuhmann kept the Blazers at No. 19 in the league-wide rankings (which, honestly, is an understandable ceiling for Portland at this moment given the teams in front of them on the list).
While Schuhmann noted the Blazers’ recent groove has come during a soft stretch in the schedule, he gave Portland credit for winning big against several lower opponents and for defeating the Los Angeles Clippers in a critical game last Tuesday. In his one takeaway about the team, Schuhmann highlighted Portland’s defense.
The Blazers rank first defensively (103.7 points allowed per 100 possessions) over the 8-2 stretch. They’re not one of the league’s 10 most improved defensive teams from last season, but this will be the first time in the last five years that they’ve been better than average on either end of the floor. They’ve allowed just 106.7 points per 100 possessions in 1,174 total minutes with Jrue Holiday on the floor alongside either Donovan Clingan or Robert Williams III.
For the season, the Blazers have the 13th-ranked defense in the NBA. They’ll enter tonight’s matchup against the Denver Nuggets with a 40-38 record. An upset win would mean Portland is guaranteed to finish with at least a .500 record for the first time since 2021.
Tipoff in Denver is scheduled for 6 p.m. Pacific.
