PORTLAND, Ore. — If the Blazers are going to turn their season around and make the playoffs, it will be on the strength of the team's offense.
Portland’s defense is terrible. The Blazers rank 26th in defensive rating and as the season goes on, they’ve been getting worse. Over the past 12 games, Portland’s defense ranks last in the NBA.
What has been keeping Portland afloat has been its offense. The Blazers rank 10th in offensive rating and as the season goes on, they’ve been getting better. Over the past 12 games, Portland’s offense ranks fifth in the league.
The key to the Blazers' offensive surge has been Damian Lillard. He was named Western Conference Player of the Week on Monday after averaging 52.7 points in three games last week. But Lillard has been on a tear for awhile now. He leads the NBA in scoring in January and over the past 21 games, he’s averaging 31.7 points and 8.0 assists per game.
RELATED: Damian Lillard named player of week
The Blazers’ offense falls off a cliff when Lillard is out of the game. With him on the court, the Blazers score 113.4 points per 100 possessions, a mark that would rank second in the NBA. But when he’s on the bench, Portland’s offensive rating is 102.6, which would rank last in the league.
Portland is seven games under .500, so they're not a good team, but because the bottom of the West is so mediocre, Portland is still good enough to challenge for a playoff spot. No team has run away in the race for the eight seed. The Blazers are just 2.5 games back of the Memphis Grizzlies, the current occupant of eighth place in the West.
With the fast-approaching return of Jusuf Nurkic, the potential of a move at the Feb. 6 trade deadline, and the possible return of Zach Collins in March, the opportunity for Portland to go on a post-All-Star break run and make the playoffs is still there.
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Here’s a look at where the Blazers land in the latest batch of NBA power rankings:
NBA.com: Blazers rank No. 18 (up 2)
What they wrote: Damian Lillard probably didn't need to make an All-Star push, but he certainly had himself a week leading up, averaging 52.7 points (on an effective field goal percentage of 69% and 37-for-39 from the line) and 9.3 assists over the last three games. When CJ McCollum returned from a three-game absence in a win over the Pacers on Sunday, he and Lillard shot a combined 14-for-21 from 3-point range and the Blazers scored 89 points on 56 possessions with their starting guards on the floor together. The Blazers lost the game (of the last three) that Lillard scored fewer than 50 points (because they allowed the Mavs to score 78 in the first half) and the schedule remains tough for the next couple of weeks. But they're just 2 1/2 games behind the eighth-place Grizzlies, with all three head-to-head meetings still to come. – John Schuhmann
ESPN: Blazers rank No. 19 (up 1)
What they wrote: Damian Lillard is not one to ever go quietly, and he's not about to stand idle as the Blazers' season slips away. In the past week, he dropped a career-high 61, followed it up with 47, then put 50 on the Pacers (plus 13 assists). Portland won two of those three games and has gotten back within shouting distance of the West's 8-seed. Plus, CJ McCollum is back from a sprained ankle. Lillard was asked about the Blazers' bad season and if that's got him thinking differently about his future and he put it simply: "I can weather the storm." Or maybe he just decided to be one. – Royce Young
CBS Sports: Blazers rank No. 20 (no change)
In these power rankings, CBS Sports listed the player on each team most likely to be traded before the Feb. 6 deadline.
What they wrote: Hassan Whiteside: The Blazers already dealt their most likely player to be traded – Kent Bazemore – so that leaves Whiteside and his $27M expiring contract. Assuming Jusuf Nurkic and Zach Collins are on track to come back healthy, the Blazers should at least explore what kind of return they could get for Whiteside, who has put up huge numbers despite the team's struggles. – Colin Ward-Henninger
The Athletic and Sports Illustrated have not published power rankings this week.
Jared Cowley writes about the Trail Blazers and other topics for KGW.com and is the co-host of KGW's 3-on-3 Blazers podcast. Have questions or comments for the 3-on-3 Blazers team? Email them here.
