The Portland Trail Blazers are in the midst of a slump, so it’s only natural that power rankings won’t be kind to them right now. After a rough 1-3 record this week — part of a larger 1-4 road trip — NBA.com’s
John Schuhmann dropped the Blazers from No. 14 to No. 20 in his latest power rankings.
That change was tied for the biggest week-to-week drop in the rankings, and it corresponded with the Blazers (6-7) dropping from No. 5 to No. 9 in the Western Conference standings. In Schuhmann’s three takeaways about the Blazers this week, he noted offense wasn’t Portland’s problem on the road.
The road trip was the Blazers’ best stretch of offense this season, even though they shot just 32.4% from 3-point range over the five games. Deni Avdija and Shaedon Sharpe both averaged more than 28 points on better than 51% shooting from the field, and the Blazers retained 36% of available offensive rebounds. Donovan Clingan totaled 23 offensive boards on the trip and ranks third in offensive rebounding percentage (15.2%) among 225 players who’ve averaged at least 20 minutes per game.
For the season, the Blazers have seen the league’s fifth biggest jump in points scored per 100 possessions (+5.3) from last season. Per tracking data, they lead the league in shot quality, having ranked 25th last year. A league-high 79% of their shots have come from the restricted area or 3-point range.
So, what was the problem then? Schuhmann showed the answer would be the Blazers slumping defense.
The road trip was also the Blazers’ worst stretch of defense this season, with their opponents scoring more than 124 points per 100 possessions. The opponents actually shot less effectively than they had previously, but the Blazers forced just 11.3 turnovers per 100 possessions over the five games, down from a league-high 19.6 per 100 through their first eight.
The Blazers’ ranking at No. 20 put them just ahead of the LA Clippers at No. 21 and just behind the Chicago Bulls at No. 19. If it makes you feel any better, Blazers fans, the Bulls can relate to the recent struggle. Chicago was the other team that fell six spots this week.
The Blazers have a chance to get right back at home. They play the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday at the Moda Center, with a late tipoff scheduled for 8 p.m. Pacific.
