It’s that time of year where every publication offers up their variation on rankings in a listicle format with the Portland Trail Blazers somewhere among their numbers, but Ethan Fuller of BasketballNews.com has a different take on the power rankings, stating: “...this listicle celebrates all that is going wrong for your favorite team.” Ranked from sweet to sour, the Blazers land at the 15 spot, aka “We’re Fine Over Here.”
Robert Covington, Derrick Jones Jr. and Harry Giles are the key new faces for Blazers fans. RoCo is an immediate plus for last year’s 27th-ranked defense, and the other two should add some firepower off the bench. Portland’s reserves now include: Jones, Giles, Anfernee Simons, Gary Trent Jr., Zach Collins and Rodney Hood. That’s a seriously fun group.
But fun won’t cut it in the Western Conference. The Blazers squeaked into the postseason by virture of a play-in victory last season. They have pushed past the first round once in the last four years. With so many young teams poised to leap, Portland has an undertone of concern.
The Blazers are flanked by the Oklahoma City Thunder (sourer) and the Golden State Warriors (sweeter). You can read the entire rankings here.