Blazers Slip To Average In NBA Power Rankings

The 9-7 Portland Trail Blazers went 2-2 last week and dropped to No. 4 in the Northwest Division and No. 9 in the Western Conference. As such they slid out of the top-10 in virtually every NBA Power Rankings list.

Here's the round-up. Last week's rankings, if available, appear in parentheses.

Marc Stein, ESPN.com: Blazers are No. 16 (No. 13)

We 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).

John Hollinger, ESPN.com: Blazers are No. 13 (7)

John Schuhmann, NBA.com: Blazers are No. 15 (No. 10)

After a disappointing 2-4 trip, and with Gerald Wallace banged up, the Blazers had just one day off before playing their first back-to-back-to-back set, which starts Monday against the Kings. LaMarcus Aldridge had a huge game (33 and 23) in Toronto on Friday, but Wesley Matthews shot just 18-for-61 on the trip.

David Aldridge, NBA.com: Blazers are No. 15 (No. 12)

Blazers have wasted a great start because only Cousin LaMarcus (49 percent) and Gerald Wallace (47 percent) are shooting well among the regular rotation.

Tom Ziller, SBNation.com: Blazers are No. 12 (No. 7)

To call the Blazers "mortal" on the road is an understatement. Portland is 6-1 at home and 3-6 on the road. Thankfully, they'll be back in the Rose Garden for the first time in nearly two weeks on Monday.

Chris Sheridan, SheridanHoops.com: Blazers are No. 16 (No. 13)

Six-game road trip is finally over, and next Eastern Conference road game isn't until March 9. This is the week (contract extension deadline) when we'll see if they value Nicolas Batum as much as they claim when other teams come calling. I'll say this again: It is unfair how loaded the West is compared to the East.

Kurt Helin, ProBasketballTalk.com: Blazers are No. 15 (No. 12)

They have struggled to win on the road and went 2-4 on an East Coast Swing (but are back home this week). They have a back-to-back-to-back this week, just for fun.

Jeff Sagarin, USA Today: Blazers are No. 9 (No. 8)

John Hollinger of ESPN.com's advanced stat rankings...

• No. 14 in Offensive Efficiency (up from No. 10)
• No. 8 in Defensive Efficiency (up from No. 10)
• No. 7 in Pace (down from No. 3)
• No. 18 in Rebound Rate (up from No. 20)

Blazers forward LaMarcus Aldridge is currently No. 22 in the NBA in dunks with 17, according to the CBSSports.com Dunk-O-Meter.

-- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter