3) Portland Trail Blazers
Record: 12-8 (2nd Northwest, 6th Western Conference)
After exploding out of the gate and shooting to the top of the West standings initially, the Blazers have cooled off significantly in recent days. They just finished up a six-game roadie that saw them go 2-4 with losses of nine, 16, 28 and 43 points, respectively.
And with Sunday’s heartbreaking loss to the West-leading LA Clippers (whaaa??), they’re now in the midst of a three-game skid.
Nevertheless, you have to tip your hat to PDX for continuing to rate with the best teams on the left coast. Especially with a defense that’s middling at best.
As ever, Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum have been the straw that sirs the drink; they’re combining to put up nearly 50 points per game on the year. That said, Jusuf Nurkic deserves major credit for their success, too.
The 24-year-old is well on his way to having a career year, dropping 16 and 11 on a nightly basis and hitting 53 percent of his field goals and 76 percent from the line. His offensive rebounding rate of 16.3 is also a top-five mark league-wide.