The latest edition of the ESPN power ratings is out, and the Trail Blazers have increased slightly, from 16 to 13. The ratings also presented the best and worst case scenario for each team:
In the best case: The returns of Jusuf Nurkic and Zach Collins not only improve the Blazers in terms of talent and depth, but also reconfigure their full identity. They are a great team, with coach Terry Stotts willing to go bigger with Nurkic and Hassan Whiteside playing together. The Blazers’ top seven players are pretty good, and they can lead the Lakers to seven games as the No. 8 seed, setting the table for a strong 2020-21 season.
Worst of cases: The Blazers’ defensive struggles are not resolved by the momentum of the great men, and the Blazers sneak further into the seed games, without even making a legitimate effort to force a play-in tournament.
Meanwhile, CBS Sports has Portland rising to 18th, one more spot than last week.
The Blazers were energized in their first scrimmage games as Jusuf Nurkic and Zach Collins looked great in their returns. The chemistry between Nurkic and Damian Lillard was put on display immediately, and the Blazers are going to be a tough matchup with their frontcourt size and backcout score. His schedule makes it difficult to catch the Grizzlies for the No. 8 spot, but if there’s any team that can catch lightning in a bottle for eight games, it’s the Blazers.
Nurkic has looked pretty good in practice games. He and Whiteside sharing the court together has had some problems, but it didn’t seem like a to complete disaster against Toronto.
The Trail Blazers officially resume their season against the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday afternoon.
