Blazers News: Portland Rises in Latest Power Rankings

The tanking team might be better than it wants to be.

Oct 27, 2024; Portland, Oregon, USA; Portland Trail Blazers forward Jerami Grant (9) reacts after dunking the ball in the second half against the New Orleans Pelicans at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Jaime Valdez-Imagn Images / Jaime Valdez-Imagn Images

At 2-3, the Portland Trail Blazers have gotten off to a surprisingly respectable start to their 2024-25 season.

The team may be looking to tank for a fourth straight season, ahead of the Cooper Kupp sweepstakes in next summer's 2025 NBA Draft, but its roster appears to make it a far more watchable product than some pundits had predicted.

Accordingly, the Trail Blazers have risen or held steady in some expert power rankings this week.

NBA.com's John Schuhmann bumped Portland to No. 26, from its preseason ranking of No. 28.

"The offense broke out on Sunday when Jerami Grant and Anfernee Simons combined to score 55 points (Deandre Ayton added 17 on 7-for-9 shooting)," Schuhmann wrote. "The Blazers’ three highest-paid players played just 19 games together last season. Having played their first three games at home, the Blazers will now play six of their next seven on the road, and they’ll be at a rest disadvantage in Sacramento on Monday. They were 5-4 (3-1 on the road) in rest-disadvantage games last season."

Law Murray of The Athletic ranks Portland at No. 27, ahead of the 2-2 Washington Wizards, the 0-4 Utah Jazz and the 1-4 Detroit Pistons.

"The Trail Blazers aren’t your typical basement-level expectations team," Murray noted. "There are a lot of mouths to feed on this offense, even with 2022 lottery pick Shaedon Sharpe sidelined (again). Anfernee Simons is still here. Jerami Grant is still here. Deandre Ayton is still supposed to be Dominayton. Portland traded a lottery pick to add a prime Deni Avdija. Henderson was the third pick of the 2023 draft, and he struggled through a disappointing rookie season. He is still an explosive on-ball player, but the presence of so many other theoretical scorers makes it tough for Henderson to get the reps he needs to justify his draft selection."

Portland had an impressive 106-105 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers Wednesday. Point guard Anfernee Simons led the way with 25 points on 10-of-24 shooting from the field (3-of-9 from beyond the arc) and 2-of-2 shooting from the charity stripe, six assists (against one turnover) and two rebounds.

The Trail Blazers next have a major measuring stick game against perhaps the Western Conference's deepest club, the undefeated (4-0, but still) Oklahoma City Thunder. The club heads to the Moda Center on Friday night.

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