Other than losing to the Los Angeles Lakers, at home no less, for the first time in almost five years, last week was a rather good one for the Portland Trail Blazers. They finished off their first extended road trip of the season with wins versus the Pacers and Rockets before returning to the Moda Center to defeat the Pelicans in their first meeting since the 2018 postseason before falling to the Lakers Saturday night.
While the Trail Blazers have caught a couple teams at the right time, playing the Rockets without James Harden and the Pelicans without Anthony Davis, they also have the most difficult schedule in the league before the new year, so catching a couple breaks only seems fair.
So after a 3-1 week, there's quite a bit of consensus regarding where the Trail Blazers come out in this week's Power Rankings...
• The panel of voters at ESPN has the Trail Blazers at No. 7 this week, two spots better than last week...
ESPN has the Trail Blazers behind the Pacers at No. 6 and ahead of the Spurs at No. 8.
• John Schuhmann at NBA.com also has the Trail Blazers at No. 7, which is a five-spot improvement over last week...
Schuhmann has the Trail Blazers behind the Celtics at No. 6 and ahead of the Spurs at No. 8.
• Khadrice Rollins at SI.com has the Trail Blazers at No. 6 this week, a full six spots better than last week...
Rollins has the Trail Blazers behind the Bucks at No. 5 and ahead of the Pacers at No. 7.
• Reid Forgrave at CBS Sports has the Trail Blazers at No. 7 this week, three spots better than last week...
Forgrave has the Trail Blazers behind the Pacers at No. 6 and ahead of the Rockets at No. 8.
• Zach Harper of The Athletic has the Trail Blazers at No. 6 this week, one spot better than last week...
Harper has the Trail Blazers behind the Nuggets at No. 5 and ahead of the Pacers at No. 7.
• Grant Hughes at Bleacher Report has the Trail Blazers at No. 7 this week, two spot better than last week...
The Portland Trail Blazers went 3-1 on their recent four-game road trip, including victories at Indiana and Houston.
Hughes has the Trail Blazers behind the Nuggets at No. 6 and ahead of the Pelicans at No. 8.
• Tommy Beer at Rotoworld has the Trail Blazers at No. 7 this week, four spots better than last week...
Beer has the Trail Blazers behind the Celtics at No. 6 and ahead of the Spurs at No. 8.
• Ian Levy at Fansided has the Trail Blazers at No. 5 this week, up two spots from last week...
Levy has the Trail Blazers behind the Raptors at No. 4 and ahead of the Pacers at No. 6.
• Sean Deveney at The Sporting News has the Trail Blazers at No. 6 this week...
Deveney has the Trail Blazers behind the Celtics at No. 5 and ahead of the Grizzlies at No. 7. • Gerald Bourguet at Hoops Habit has the Trail Blazers at No. 6 this week, seven spots better than last week...
Bourguet has the Trail Blazers behind the Celtics at No. 6 and ahead of the Pacers at No. 7.