For quite some time, the Western Conference has felt like a two-team race. That is the nature of the beast when dealing with an all-time great team in the Golden State Warriors and a furious juggernaut in the Houston Rockets. By proxy, the rest of the playoff contenders in the West are lumped together and, for most of the squads, simply making the playoffs would be a positive outcome given the jockeying that has taken place throughout the season. As of mid-March, though, the Portland Trail Blazers have taken full control of the race for the No. 3 seed and they’ve done it in quiet, surprising fashion.
Portland is riding a 13-game winning streak that includes victories over the Warriors (twice), Thunder, Wolves and Cavaliers. That in itself is wildly impressive and Portland’s 15-1 record since Feb. 8 is exceeded only by the absurdly effective Rockets. A glance at advanced metrics would indicate that, as you may expect, Portland’s win-loss record probably isn’t sustainable based on its net rating (10th in the NBA at +2.2 points per 100 possessions) but the Blazers are simply making plays when it matters.
With Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum at the helm, Terry Stotts’ team has been preposterously good in what the league describes as “clutch” situations. 37 games fall into that category for the Blazers and Portland sports a +10.0 net rating keyed by incredible defense, as the team is allowing just 97.5 points per 100 possessions down the stretch of close games.
From a roster standpoint, no one would point to this particular group as a dominant defensive collection, but the Blazers are doing enough on that end to stay in almost every game and the offense, though not lighting the world on fire in a global sense, takes it from there. There is real buzz about Lillard as an All-NBA performer this season and, even if that doesn’t take place, he should get peripheral MVP attention given the way that Portland has performed in the recent past.
The Blazers don’t have a massive cushion over everyone else in the West but, with 12 games remaining and a two-game lead on the Thunder, it would take significant cooling for anyone to fully catch Portland in the race for No. 3 overall. Granted, the “prize” at the end of the line could be a round two match-up (without homecourt advantage) against the Warriors but for this particular bunch, holding an advantage in round one with an eye toward advancement would be a significant overall victory.
How do the Blazers stack up this week against the rest of the NBA? Let’s find out in our Dime Power Rankings.
1. Houston Rockets (56-14, Last week — 1st)
The Rockets are 29-3 in their last 32 games. Houston’s three losses over that time came on the road against playoff-bound teams. There are questions to answer in May but, until then, good luck dealing with the Rockets. They are lights-out.
2. Golden State Warriors (53-18, Last week — 2nd)
It is borderline inconceivable that the Warriors could lose four out of six games but here we are. Of course, injuries are the central reason and, as such, I’m loathe to drop them any further. If we were determining which team would win a game with its current available roster, Golden State would be a lot lower but, unless something drastic happens, I’m just not treating the reigning champs that way.
3. Toronto Raptors (52-18, Last week — 3rd)
Toronto’s winning streak went up in flames on Sunday and there were some fireworks along the way. That performance won’t leave anyone overly excited about the Raptors but, at 52-18, that doesn’t particularly matter right now.
4. Portland Trail Blazers (44-26, Last week — 4th)
Until Portland loses, this is basically their floor. That doesn’t mean that anyone would necessarily pick Portland over Houston or Golden State (if healthy) but it’s a remarkable story.
5. Utah Jazz (40-30, Last week — 5th)
If you simply glance at the standings, it may seem crazy to have Utah this high. Then, you realize that the Jazz have won 21 of 23 games and, on the defensive end, no team has been more dominant. If anything, this is an underrated bunch at the moment.
6. Oklahoma City Thunder (43-29, Last week — 6th)
Here come the Thunder! OKC is in the midst of a six-game winning streak and Sunday’s road win in Toronto was a lot of fun to consume. It has to be noted the schedule during the run has been favorable but Russell Westbrook, Paul George and company are taking care of business.
7. Boston Celtics (47-23, Last week — 7th)
It is hard to get overly excited about the Celtics right now. The team is battling injuries and, over the past 26 games, Boston is 13-13. They have established a ton of goodwill and a big lead over the No. 3 seed in the East, though, and that matters.
8. Cleveland Cavaliers (41-29, Last week — 12th)
Justified concerns exist surrounding the Cavs and the team is now without its head coach for a while as a result of health concerns. Cleveland did pick up a nice home win over Milwaukee on Monday evening, however, and that allows for a bump in this space.
9. Indiana Pacers (41-30, Last week — 8th)
It wasn’t the best week for the Pacers, as they fell short against the Wizards and Raptors. Still, no one is talking about Indiana and, at the moment, the team still resides in the No. 4 spot in the conference.
10. San Antonio Spurs (41-30, Last week — 16th)
Doomsday scenarios have subsided (at least for now) in San Antonio on the heels of four consecutive wins. They all came within the friendly confines of the AT&T Center but, at this point, every result matters and the Spurs catching a break against a short-handed Warriors team is something to circle on the calendar for reference.
11. Philadelphia 76ers (39-30, Last week — 13th)
Philly’s last six victories have come against non-playoff teams so it is tough to give too much credit. With that said, a young team taking care of business is encouraging and the Sixers still feel terrifying given their talent level.
12. Washington Wizards (40-30, Last week — 15th)
Wizards fans will undoubtedly push back at this placement, especially in light of wins over the Pacers and Celtics. As usual, it has to do with consistency and Washington, while dangerous, is also maddening.
13. New Orleans Pelicans (40-30, Last week — 11th)
The Pels really needed a win and they were able to secure one over Boston. Prior to that, New Orleans dropped four of five at a (very) bad time but it will be interesting to see the response from this point forward.
14. Minnesota Timberwolves (40-31, Last week — 14th)
Minnesota’s last two games have ended in defeat and one of them (by 16 to San Antonio) was indefensible. The other came at the hands of Houston and, well, that happens to just about every team in the league. The Wolves need Jimmy Butler but they’ve been able to stay at least reasonably afloat in his absence.
15. Miami Heat (38-33, Last week — 19th)
I’ve been lower on Miami than most for a while and that might still be the case. The results don’t lie, though, and a double-overtime win over the Nuggets on Monday allowed for a boost.
16. Los Angeles Clippers (37-32, Last week — 10th)
A three-game March losing streak is bad for any playoff contender and that rings true for the Clippers. The losses did come against (very) good teams but Los Angeles really could have used an upset along the way.
17. Denver Nuggets (38-33, Last week — 9th)
There is no shame in losing a double-overtime game to the Heat, even if that loss had to be frustrating. There is great shame in losing to the Grizzlies, even on the road, and that result is the reason for this dive. That just can’t happen in the middle of a playoff race.
18. Milwaukee Bucks (37-33, Last week — 18th)
Milwaukee’s going to make the playoffs (in part because of Detroit’s misgivings) but there is something a bit off right now with the Bucks. They should just be better than this.
19. Detroit Pistons (31-39, Last week — 20th)
It makes no sense for Detroit to rise in these rankings but they did it anyway. A road win in Sacramento was desperately needed, albeit relatively uninspiring, but the jump has to more to do with other teams falling than anything else.
20. Los Angeles Lakers (31-39, Last week — 17th)
The Lakers were due for a rough patch and it arrived to the tune of three straight losses. There were no bad losses, though, and the Lakers have been better than their record for a while now. It helps that they have no incentive to tank.
21. Charlotte Hornets (30-41, Last week — 21st)
There is only so far that Charlotte can fall because they’re trying to win. A 23-point loss to the Knicks tests that theory but Charlotte did, at the very least, win in Atlanta earlier in the week to stay somewhat level.
22. Brooklyn Nets (23-48, Last week — 25th)
Beating the Grizzlies and Mavericks at home isn’t usually grounds for celebration but it qualifies for a Nets team that doesn’t actually need to lose games down the stretch. This ranking is probably aggressive but we’ll reward Brooklyn for effort.
23. New York Knicks (26-45, Last week — 28th)
The Knicks have risen from the dead to the tune of back-to-back wins. Undoubtedly, New York’s fan base doesn’t like the new reality when compared to their quest for ping-pong balls but, oddly, it was nice to see a bit of life.
24. Dallas Mavericks (22-48, Last week — 23rd)
This isn’t groundbreaking analysis but it (still) seems impossible for the Mavs to have their record with this roster and their overall peripherals. That takes effort.
25. Chicago Bulls (24-46, Last week — 22nd)
In terrible tanking strategy, the Bulls put together a 3-3 string recently but, mercifully, that is now over with back-to-back losses. Chicago has come under fire in perhaps an unjustified manner by the league for tanking but, like everyone in this class, they really don’t want to win.
26. Orlando Magic (21-49, Last week — 26th)
It feels like the Magic always lose six out of seven games and here we are again. This time around, Orlando’s schedule was challenging enough to where that isn’t offensively bad and they should at least have that caveat presented.
27. Sacramento Kings (23-49, Last week — 24th)
The Kings were lit up by the Pistons in their own arena and that… isn’t great. There was some optimism, though, based on recent play and Sacramento hasn’t been as bad as their overall net rating would suggest. It’s up to you to decide whether that’s a bad thing.
28. Memphis Grizzlies (19-51, Last week — 30th)
Memphis had a chance to skyrocket with a win on Monday over Brooklyn but the Grizzlies fell just short. Prior to that, though, the team’s seemingly never-ending losing streak came to its conclusion and, for at least one week, they are granted a reprieve from the basement.
29. Atlanta Hawks (20-50, Last week — 27th)
Coming into the season, it was obvious that the Hawks didn’t have the most talented roster and, if anything, they may have even overachieved. With injury issues (real ones, even) popping up now, Atlanta is in a tailspin and six straight losses could turn into 11 as the team heads out on a West Coast road trip.
30. Phoenix Suns (19-52, Last week — 29th)
The team with the league’s worst net rating lands here and it helps that Phoenix has lost eight in a row to facilitate that drop. The Suns have more intriguing young talent than some of the other teams near the bottom but, from a performance standpoint, things get ugly in a hurry.
