Trail Blazers Plummet in Power Rankings

This week's set of NBA power rankings keep the Golden State Warriors unanimously on top. No surprise there.  Let's see how our Portland Trail Blazers fared after their dismal 0-4 performance.

Portland dropped an average of four places and are out of the top-5 on all lists and out of the top-10 on one.  They have a high-ranking of 6 and a low of 11.

Drew Garrison of SB Nation: 1) Golden State, 2) Atlanta, 3) Memphis, 4) Cleveland, & 5) Houston.

9.  Portland Trail Blazers (44-24, Last week: 6)

The Trail Blazers are on a four-game losing streak, but their biggest losses continue to come in the form of injuries. Both LaMarcus Aldridge (hand) and Nicolas Batum (back) were hurt during their defeat to the Grizzlies on Saturday.

Matt Dollinger of Sports Illustrated: 1) Golden State, 2) Cleveland, 3) San Antonio, 4) Oklahoma City, & 5) Atlanta.

11.  PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS   LAST WEEK: 6   RECORD: 44-24 (0-4)
The wheels are starting to come off for the Blazers, who have lost a season-high four straight and saw LaMarcus Aldridge and Nicolas Batum go down with injuries in the most recent defeat. Aldridge has played admirably through a hurt thumb, but the big man says he isn't "going to rush" back with his latest hand injury.

Matt Moore of CBSSports: 1) Golden State, 2) Cleveland, 3) San Antonio, 4) Memphis, & 5) Oklahoma City.

9.  Portland needs a few scrappy, come-from-behind, can-you-believe-it games they've won so many times the past two seasons. The Blazers need something to lift their spirits because right now they seem like they're just trying to get through the next day.

John Schuhmann of nba.com: 1) Golden State, 2) Cleveland, 3) Atlanta, 4) Memphis, & 5) San Antonio.

9.  Last week: 4   Portland (44-24)   Pace: 96.4 (13) OffRtg: 105.2 (7) DefRtg: 100.6 (7) NetRtg: +4.6 (5)
The Blazers have lost four straight and their new starting lineup has been much worse defensively than their old one. The question is how much of the new lineup will play this week. In Saturday's loss in Memphis, LaMarcus Aldridge injured his hand and Nicolas Batum, who's been one of the league's most improved shooters since the break, hurt his back.  This week: vs. GSW, @ UTA, @ PHX, vs. DEN

Marc Stein of ESPN: 1) Golden State, 2) Atlanta, 3) Cleveland, 4) Memphis, & 5) San Antonio.

9.  Portland   44-24   Last Week: 7   The Blazers' growing injury woes are yet another reason that the Western Conference, so often described as the most treacherous hardwood terrain imaginable, might not be as imposing in the playoffs as the rep suggests. Not when Portland and OKC are banged up and Dallas is slumping.

Mark Spears of Yahoo.com: 1) Golden State, 2) Cleveland, 3) Atlanta, 4) Memphis, & 5) Los Angeles Clippers.

8.  Portland Trail Blazers  (Record: 44-24; last week: 4):  Struggling of late, Portland got some good news as LaMarcus Aldridge told Yahoo Sports he believes his latest hand injury is of the day-to-day variety.

Adi Joseph of USA Today: 1) Golden State, 2) Atlanta, 3) Memphis, 4) Cleveland, & 5) Houston.

6.  Portland Trail Blazers   44-24   Damian Lillard shoots 36.4% on three-pointers in victories, 29.5% in losses.

The Memphis Grizzlies now seem to be the consensus number-2 team in the west. We'll see how the Blazers do next week.