OKC Thunder: NBA Power Rankings week 10 – All-Star break edition

Portland Trail Blazers:

Week 10: 0-3
Lost to: Suns 100-132, Nuggets 106-111, Lakers 93-102

Opponents this week: Hornets, Warriors, Kings

Offensive Rating: 114.7 (7th) | Defensive Rating: 115.8 (28th) | Net Differential: -1.1 (tied 20th)

Like the Pacers, the Blazers seem to have hit a wall just as the first half is coming to a close. In week 10 the Blazers (or more accurately Damian Lillard) was unable to pull out a win like he has while CJ McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic have both been sidelined by injury.

Portland maintained their offense in the month of February ranking 10th overall (115.8) but witnessed their defense fall off a cliff in the same time frame. The Blazers ranked 25th (116.9) defensively in the month.

Not that McCollum is a defensive stalwart but his absence is affecting the workload on Lillard and forcing him to do more. Nurkic will make a huge difference when he returns likely shortly after the All-Star break.

Preseason, I felt Blazers GM Neil Olshey did a lot to bolster the club’s depth. I maintain once this group is healthy they’ll pose problems for the elite in the West.

However, getting Dame to the postseason without wearing him out is a priority. Case in point, in the match versus the Lakers, Lillard scored 25 first-half points. In the second half, he landed awkwardly on a shot and was virtually ineffective thereafter. In review, it was hard to see if there was any interference from the defender which begged the question if this was simply a matter of wear and tear.