A rough week for your Portland Trail Blazers. Losing to the Wizards in their lone home game over the course of a two-week span got a tough stretch off to a bad start, and things got worse with the team heading back out onto the road for games versus the Suns, Nuggets and Lakers, none of which when the Trail Blazers' way. You knew that the Trail Blazers' six-game win streak was helped by the level of competition they faced, but you would have hoped they could have followed that streak up with at least one win versus three Western Conference teams that they'll be jockeying for position with come the end of the season.
That ultimately would not be the case, though they managed to get a three-game homestand leading into the All-Star break off to a better start with a win versus the Charlotte Hornets on Monday. And then it's an all-home back-to-back versus the Warriors and Kings before a week off, so it feels like a chance to build a little momentum before the start of the second half of the season -- which could also coincide with the return of CJ McCollum to the lineup. Following up a week of losses with three-straight wins going into a Blazers-filled All-Star Sunday would certainly put this team on a good footing on the precipice of what is sure to be a tough two and a half months of basketball.
With that said, here is the final "first half" of the season edition of the weekly Power Rankings...
• The panel of voters at ESPN has the Trail Blazers at No. 10 this week, two spots worse than last week...
The folks at ESPN have the Trail Blazers behind the Nuggets at No. 9 and ahead of the Warriors at No. 11.
• John Schuhmann at NBA.com has the Trail Blazers at No. 13 this week, a five-spot drop from last week...
Schuhmann has the Trail Blazers behind the Heat at No. 12 and ahead of the Raptors at No. 14.
• Colin Ward-Henninger has the Trail Blazers at No. 12 this week, six spots worse than last week...
Ward-Henninger has the Trail Blazers behind the Nuggets at No. 11 and ahead of the Knicks at No. 13.
• Mo Dakhil at Bleacher Report has the Trail Blazers at No. 12 this week, a four-spot drop from last week...
Dakhil has the Trail Blazers behind the Raptors at No. 11 and ahead of the Mavericks at No. 13.
• Corey Rausch at Hoops Habit also has the Trail Blazers at No. 12 this week, five spots worse than last week...
Rausch has the Trail Blazers behind the Nuggets at No. 11 and ahead of the Spurs at No. 13.
• Adam Caparell at Complex has the Trail Blazers at No. 8 this week, one spot BETTER than their last ranking...
Caparell has the Trail Blazers behind the 76ers at No. 7 and ahead of the Nugges at No. 9.
• Zach Harper at The Athletic has the Trail Blazers at No. 14 this week, seven spots worse than last week...
If you're going to wait until Tuesday to post your power rankings, you should at least update them with the latest results.
Harper has the Trail Blazers behind the Raptors at No. 13 and ahead of the Celtics at No. 15.
• Brad Rowland at UPROXX has Portland at No. 14 this week, a two-spot drop from last week...
See, that wasn't so hard.
Rowland has the Trail Blazers behind the Spurs at No. 13 and ahead of Wednsday's opponent, the Warriors, at No. 15.