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NBA Power Rankings week 14: OKC Thunder among the ‘road warriors’

By Tamberlyn Richardson

JANUARY 20: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander #2 of the Oklahoma City Thunder handles the ball during the game against the Houston Rockets (Photo by Cato Cataldo/NBAE via Getty Images)
JANUARY 20: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander #2 of the Oklahoma City Thunder handles the ball during the game against the Houston Rockets (Photo by Cato Cataldo/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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OKC Thunder, NBA Power Rankings Week 14
OKC Thunder, NBA Power Rankings Week 14: Damian Lillard #0 of the Portland Trail Blazers celebrates after making a basket while being fouled in the first quarter against the Indiana Pacers (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /

34. . 20-27. Previous: 21st. Portland Trail Blazers. 16. team

Portland Trail Blazers:

Offense: (111.0) three-way tie for 10th
Defense: ( 113.0) 26th
Net: (minus -2.0) 19th

Results Week 14: (2-1)  (3 games): Won vs. Warriors: 129-124 (OT), Pacers: 139-129, Lost vs. Mavericks: 125-133
Games Week 15: (3 games) Weds vs. Rockets | Fri at Lakers | Sat vs. Jazz

The trade to bring Trevor Ariza to Portland paid initial dividends as the forward looked like he’d been in the mix all season. His first appearance was against the Mavericks where he produced a healthy stat line of 21 points, seven rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Ariza came back down to earth a bit with seven points, four rebounds and an assist in the game versus the Pacers.

Whether he’s feasting as he did versus the Mavs or providing supplementary help as he did versus the Pacers it does seem like Ariza will provide more for Portland than Kent Bazemore on both sides of the hardwood.

Meanwhile, Damian Lillard went off this week posting three incredible lines:

  • Warriors: 61 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists,
  • Mavericks: 47 points, six rebounds, eight assists
  • Pacers: 50 points, six rebounds, 13 assists

For those who like the weekly average stats, he served up an average of 52.6 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 9.3 assists.

As for the perimeter, his deep ball was on fire and defenders had no clue if the shot was coming at the line or the logo. Through the three games, he hit 11 of 20, 8 of 15 and 8 of 12 respectively for an average long ball efficiency of 27 for 47 or 57.4 percent. Like I said on FIRE!

Still, the Blazers will need to find others to help Dame as they reside in the West’s 10th seed 2.5 games back of the Grizzlies.

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