Northwest Division

Portland Trail Blazers Power Rankings - 2011-12

Power Ranking
WEEKRECORDRANKCOMMENT
Week 1728-3621The season's final (sad) word goes to Blazers escapee Marcus Camby from the season's final Weekend Dime: "They might not want to admit it, but when I was there, my goodness, people (in the locker room) were saying, "Are we really snake-bit? Are we really cursed?" Doubts and talks like that came about."
Week 1628-3320Wish I had something smart/comforting to say to Blazermaniacs after a season that began with Brandon Roy's injury-hastened retirement and yet another health setback to ultimately end Greg Oden's time in Portland is wrapping up with hip surgery for LaMarcus Aldridge. But I don't.
Week 1527-3020Professor Hollinger has apparently taken to calling them the "Trail Tankers." I was actually going to question their commitment to tanking after that spirited comeback Friday night in Dallas to beat the reigning champs in OT, but 9-14 since the All-Star break seems defensible with the Nets' first-rounder on the way.
Week 1425-2819Are the Blazers for sale? Owner Paul Allen has adamantly denied it. Are the Blazers in full-on tank mode after trading away Gerald Wallace and Marcus Camby? Hard to make that claim as hard as Portland played over the weekend in a one-point road loss to the Clips and a home rout over Oregon native K-Love's Wolves.
Week 1323-2621The Kaleb Canales story is a fairy tale to us -- since we haven't seen too many NBA head coaches from Mrs. Line's alma mater at UT-Arlington -- but I can understand how rabid Blazermaniacs might not see it that way. The deep-pocketed Paul Allen's team is run by an interim coach and an interim GM (Chad Buchanan)?
Week 1221-2419Gotta be honest: We're probably going to need more time to digest that the Blazers lost to the Knicks by 42, made two trades, fired Nate McMillan, replaced Nate with a little-known assistant six years younger than 39-year-old Kurt Thomas, waived Greg Oden and then beat the Bulls ... all in the space of 72 hours.
Week 1120-2122Aldridge is untouchable. Batum is still close to untouchable. Otherwise? It shouldn't surprise you if the Blazers trade anyone else or launch their coach after the way they've free-falled below .500. They're suddenly the strongest case against the value of point differential when you look at the standings.
Week 1018-1920Don't see the Blazers firing Nate McMillan without a full-time GM in place because then Paul Allen has to take all the heat for what would likely go down as an unpopular decision. It's more likely that Portland focuses on trades to shake things up, shopping Ray Felton, Jamal Crawford and ... stay tuned.
Week 918-1614The interruption of All-Star Weekend and the gutsy return of Joel Przybilla to the city that swallows centers whole have managed to shift the focus from Portland's struggles in close games (2-10 in games decided by five points or fewer) and the recent demotions of Ray Felton and Wes Matthews. But for how long?
Week 817-1515Sorry. Not ready to co-sign the theory that the Blazers' West-leading six wins by 20-plus points suggest great potential when they're No. 30 in games decided by five or less at 2-10. Always fearful about looming injuries, Portland has surely suffered psyche-wise as well from its late-game woes.
Week 715-1314The NBA's admission that it got the late goaltending call wrong in last Monday's heartbreaking home loss to the Thunder was so galling because the Blazers' late-game woes are only deepening. They're 1-9 now in games decided by five points or fewer ... 0-6 when the margin is three points or fewer.
Week 614-1010It's not just road games troubling the Blazers. Since a tight home win over Philly on opening night, Portland has lost seven straight games decided by five or fewer points, including visits to Utah and Sac-Town last week. Repetitive crunch-time failures can be random, true, but also can seriously dent a team's confidence.
Week 512-814Only two teams in the Western Conference have a better nightly average point differential than the Blazers' +4.9 nearly a third of the way into the season: Denver at +7.2 and OKC at +6.2. But the Blazers' ongoing road struggles and inconsistent guard play are getting more attention. Justifiably so, Blazermaniacs?
Week 49-716We were prepared to attribute most of the Blazers' struggles since that promising start to the tough schedule they've seen lately. But then they went to Detroit and lost to a team that scores 85 points per game and sports the league's fourth-worst average scoring margin (minus-9.4).
Week 37-513The Blazers have looked tired more than once lately, which figured to be less of an issue for them because of their depth. They're also still looking for offensive consistency, scoring better than 105 points per game at home but just 89.3 ppg on the road.
Week 26-25We interrupt the Blazers' best start since launching at 7-1 in 1999-2000 with a question. One of my eds jumped on me for using the term "cornerstone" in reference to Batum. You tell me, Blazermaniacs. Even as a sixth man, don't you see him that way?
Week 13-16It's cold to say it out loud but undeniably true: Portland plays faster in the post-Roy era. It's early, obviously, but the Blazers have been a lot more watchable. Especially with Matthews, Felton and Crawford all scoring 20-plus against Denver.
Preseason48-3414Day 1 of camp: B-Roy forced to retire, Oden shelved for another season with more of his own knee torment and Aldridge rocked by a heart scare. Blazermaniacs can only hope this is the season that Team What Next gets it all out of its system early.
Training Camp17-150Sorry. Not ready to co-sign the theory that the Blazers' West-leading six wins by 20-plus points suggest great potential when they're still sporting the NBA's worst record (2-10) in games decided by five or less. Always fearful about looming injuries, Portland has surely suffered psyche-wise as well from its late-game woes.

Portland Trail Blazers