Blazers Improve Slightly In NBA Power Rankings
The Portland Trail Blazers went 2-2 last week, defeating both the Orlando Magic and Miami Heat but falling to the Charlotte Bobcats and Atlanta Hawks. The marquee wins followed immediately by disappointing losses left the Blazers posting mixed results in the various NBA Power Rankings and playoff projection models. Marc Stein: Blazers improve from No. 11 to No. 10 John Schuhmann: Blazers remain at No. 12 John Hollinger: Blazers improve from No. 16 to No. 13 David Aldridge: Blazers drop from No. 8 to No. 10 Jeff Sagarin: Blazers remain at No. 12 According to Hollinger's team stats: Portland remains at 14th in offensive efficiency, remains at 15th in defensive efficiency, dropped from 19th to 20th in rebound rate and are once again the slowest team in the NBA when it comes to pace (they had been second slowest). Over at Basketball-Reference.com, their playoff forecast has the Blazers in the Western Conference's No. 7 seed, now with a 85.6% chance of making the playoffs (up from 69.4% last week). The Memphis Grizzlies (77.0%), Houston Rockets (14.6%) and Phoenix Suns (20.4%) are the next three teams trailing Portland. Hollinger's Playoff Odds have the Blazers in the No. 7 spot, with a 84.9% chance to make the playoffs (up from 62.7% last week). The Grizzlies (72.0%), Rockets (29.0%) and Suns (20.3%) are the top three chasing Portland. -- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter

