It's been a while since we last checked in on where you're Portland Trail Blazers stand in the weekly NBA Power Rankings with a little over a month left in the regular season. As you might imagine, thanks to winning six straight and eight of their last nine heading into Monday night's contest versus the Lakers at Staples Center, the Trail Blazers find themselves near the top this week, both in terms of the Power Rankings and the current Western Conference standings.
Granted, nothing is close to decided with just four games seperating third place and 10th place in the West with 20 games to play, but as of right now, the Trail Blazers are in the driver's seat for the three-seed, and their rankings this week reflect that.
Onto the rankings...
• The panel of voters at ESPN has the Trail Blazers at No. 5 this week, two spots better than last week...
ESPN has the Trail Blazers behind the Celtics at No. 4 and ahead of the Cavaliers at No. 6.
• John Schuhmann of NBA.com has the Trail Blazers at No. 4 this week, which is also a two-spot improvement over last week...
Schuhmann has the Trail Blazers behind the Raptors at No. 3 and ahead of the Celtics at No. 5.
• David Aldridge, also of NBA.com, has the Trail Blazers at No. 5 this week, an 11-spot improvement over last week...
Aldridge has the Trail Blazers behind the Celtics at No. 4 and ahead of the Thunder at No. 6.
• Rohan Nadkarni at SI.com has the Trail Blazers at No. 4 this week, five spots better than last week...
Nadkarni has the Trail Blazers behind the Raptors at No. 3 and ahead of the Pelicans at No. 5.
• Chris Barnewall at CBSSports.com has the Trail Blazers at No. 4, two spots better than last week...
Barnewall has the Trail Blazers behind the Raptors at No. 3 and ahead of the Pelicans at No. 5.
• The panel of voters at USA Today has the Trail Blazers at No. 5 this week, five spots better than last week...
USA Today has the Trail Blazers behind the Celtics at No. 4 and ahead of the Cavaliers at No. 6.
• Grant Hughes of Bleacher Report, in rankings posted on March 2, has the Trail Blazers at No. 7, which is seven spots better than their previous ranking...
Hughes has the Trail Blazers behind the Cavaliers at No. 6 and ahead of the Jazz at No. 8.