Northwest Division

Portland Trail Blazers Power Rankings - 2012-13

Power Ranking
WEEKRECORDRANKCOMMENT
Week 2433-4722Forget the late-season skid. A Blazers rookie was not only healthy enough to run away with the ROY race but also to log more than 3,000 minutes. And Damian Lillard's 181 3-pointers, on top of all his other achievements, eclipsed Steph Curry's rookie record of 166. Promising season in Portland.
Week 2333-4422Blazermaniacs who loathe the committee (of one) will be pleased to hear that their team ruined our Sunday night. The fourth-quarter rally that merely put an almighty scare into Dallas also prevented Dallas' 10-day signee Josh Akognon out of Cal State Fullerton from making his NBA debut.
Week 2233-4020All nine games on their April schedule are against teams either in the playoffs or right on the cusp (Utah and Dallas). You could say the same about the Blazers' last seven games. And remember: Portland finishing 12th or higher in the lottery prevents its first-round pick from going to Charlotte.
Week 2133-3718The standing math says that the Blazers, no matter how many times we've written them off, still deserve to be lumped in as one of six teams alive for the West's final three playoff berths. Even after dropping 15 of their past 19 road games. So talk to us, Blazermaniacs. How do you see it?
Week 2031-3420One more long road trip and three more national TV dates (March 27 vs. Brooklyn and April 5 vs. Houston on ESPN; April 16 at the Clips) for the Damian Lillard Show. J.J. Hickson, meanwhile, is up to 10 games with at least 15 points and 15 rebounds, tied with Zach Randolph for second overall.
Week 1929-3317At 9-18 since its 20-15 start, Portland is leaving us little choice but to devote this precious real estate to Damian Lillard and his bid to join Oscar Robertson, Magic Johnson, Damon Stoudamire, Allen Iverson and Steve Francis on the short list of rookies in history who averaged 18 PPG and six APG.
Week 1827-3117On the rebounding front: J.J. Hickson is up to nine 15-and-15 games this season -- second only to Dwight Howard -- but LaMarcus Aldridge recently went seven straight games with six boards or fewer. That's Aldridge's longest such streak since a 16-gamer during his rookie season in 2006-07.
Week 1726-3019If the Blazers hadn't beaten Boston on Sunday night, they'd be mired in their first eight-game skid since April 2006. The willingness to trade J.J. Hickson at the deadline, mind you, made it clear that securing another lottery pick is their unspoken preference anyway, even after that Cinderella first half.
Week 1625-2820The Blazers generate as much intrigue as a likely lottery team can. Not a meaningless game left on the schedule while they wrestle with the pros and cons of chasing that No. 8 seed, which would cost 'em their first-round pick (to Charlotte) if they get there. (Danny Nowell, Portland Roundball Society)
Week 1525-2618Unfair as it might seem to write the Blazers' playoff hopes off after one bad L, it's hard to resist in this case. On a crucial six-game trip leading into the All-Star break, Portland simply could not afford to fall in Orlando in the most inviting game of the six to dip below .500 for the first time in 2013.
Week 1424-2316The Blazers don't play another home game until after the All-Star break. Daunting as that sounds, only two of the six foes on this upcoming trip -- which will be capped by a Damian Lillard vs. Anthony Davis duel in New Orleans on Feb. 13 -- have a winning record: Houston and Miami.
Week 1322-2216So make that two triple-doubles for Nicolas Batum in his past four games -- after zero in his first 294 regular-season games. As tenuous as Portland's playoff aspirations are at the minute, something tells me you'd struggle to find many in the Pacific Northwest who regret Batum's contract now.
Week 1220-2014What were we saying last Monday about how the Blazers' success in close games couldn't last? They promptly lost in OT for the first time all season at Denver, fell at home to the Cavs and Bucks by a combined 11 points and are mired in a five-game skid with all five Ls by six points or fewer.
Week 1120-1712The Blazers are 6-2 in games decided by three points or fewer, 5-0 in overtime games and remain firmly in the playoff hunt despite the only negative average point margin (minus-2.0) of any team in the West's top eight. Everyone keeps saying none of that can last ... but do the Blazers know that?
Week 1018-1513Portland is the only team in the West's current top eight sporting a negative nightly average point margin (-2.2). Which suggests that the rebuilding Blazers are in a false position ... until you remember they've won six straight home games and are 9-6 against .500-or-better opposition.
Week 915-1416Who had J.J. Hickson averaging 13 and 11 and Terry Stotts' Trail Blazers over .500 and sitting four games ahead of Rick Carlisle's Mavericks at the turn of the year? No one in Dallas that I know of ... not even when you factor in the 27 games that Dirk Nowitzki had to sit out after knee surgery.
Week 813-1320Another surprise entry for the Damian Lillard files: The committee (of one) did a spot on an England-based radio show Sunday night and fielded a question from a listener via text. Not about Surrey's own Joel Freeland, though. A question about Damian Lillard. On English radio!
Week 711-1220The Blazers have quietly inched to the brink of .500 by winning six of seven games at home, gratefully watching Nic Batum and J.J. Hickson extend their best-ever starts ... while naturally reveling in how ROY favorite Damian Lilliard just capped his first duel with The Unibrow.
Week 68-1225Fun argument this week with a rival team official who loves Damian Lillard. He thinks Kyrie Irving, just by virtue of playing for LeBron's old team, gets way more spotlight. I'd argue that, even with Portland 4-12 in non-OT games, all folks like me have been doing is writing and talking about Lillard.
Week 57-1023For all the fretting generated by LaMarcus Aldridge's so-so opening month, Portland's utterly anemic bench and the 0-4 start on this seven-game trip, Damian Lillard's continued success and the resurrection of J.J. Hickson is shielding the Pacific Northwest from full-on gloom. Isn't it?
Week 46-721With Damian Lillard believers sprouting up everywhere these days, it's probably best to keep asking questions about the rest of this new three-
man core: LaMarcus Aldridge (still not shooting the ball anywhere near his norm) and a better-than-ever Nic (Can He Keep This Up?) Batum.
Week 35-517We break from our usual fixation in this space with either LaMarcus Aldridge or Damian Lillard to share, via Elias, that Nic Batum became only the third player in NBA history to total 30-plus points with five 3s as well as five blocks in that OT win over Houston. He joins Clifford Robinson and Raef LaFrentz.
Week 22-420Although you can't exactly put it up there with David Stern's retirement announcement, James Harden's trade to OKC or the Lakers' coaching saga, Portland just produced an early shocker of its own when its bench got outscored 63-4 by San Antonio's. Sixty-three to four!
Week 12-117Didn't take long, did it? After three games and countless references to how he's the only player in history besides Oscar Robertson to reach at least 20 points and 7 assists in his first three NBA games, Damian Lillard has made it quite clear that there are two ROY favorites.
Preseason0-020The league boasts only three new coaches: Charlotte's Mike Dunlap, Orlando's Jacque Vaughn and Terry Stotts here. You can safely assume Stotts, armed with an All-Star forward (Aldridge) and a dynamic rookie (Lillard), enjoys the closest thing to a decent Year 1.
Training Camp28-3821Can Damian Lillard trump Unibrow Davis and actually win the ROY race? Hard to fathom. Will Lillard be sufficiently dazzling to buy new coach Terry Stotts some time and placate Blazermaniacs as their heroes try to rebuild around Aldridge, Batum and the flashy new PG? Quite conceivable.

Portland Trail Blazers