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NBA power rankings: Blazers jump up to No. 2

National NBA pundits, who almost unanimously predicted a steep decline for the Blazers before the season started, are noticing Portland's strong start to the season.

PORTLAND, Ore. — After Sunday's gritty win against the Boston Celtics, the Trail Blazers have won four in a row and wrapped up their longest homestand of the season with five wins in six games.

Only two teams, the Warriors and Raptors, currently have more wins than the Blazers' 10 victories. Portland ranks near the top of the league in several important statistical categories:

  • Wins: 10 (third)
  • Point differential: +9.7 (fourth)
  • Points per game: 115.8 (eighth)
  • Opponent points per game: 106.2 (fifth)
  • Offensive rating: 113.6 (fifth)
  • Defensive rating: 104.4 (fifth)
  • Net rating: +9.2 (fourth)

The Blazers and Bucks remain the only teams in the NBA to rank in the Top 5 in both offensive and defensive rating.

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National NBA pundits, who almost unanimously predicted a steep decline for the Blazers before the season started, are noticing Portland's strong start to the season. In the latest batch of power rankings, Portland ranks as high as second and no lower than fifth.

NBA.com: Blazers rank No. 2 (up 5)

What they wrote: After completing a 5-1 homestand with wins over the Bucks, Clippers and Celtics, the Blazers are 6-1 in games between the 15 teams that currently have winning records, with the only loss coming when they shot 6-for-35 from 3-point range against the Lakers. In the midst of dropping 40 on the Bucks' third-ranked defense, C.J. McCollum dropped rookie Donte DiVincenzo late in the third quarter. This is a jump-shooting team — the Blazers rank 23rd in the percentage of their shots that have come from the paint and in the bottom three in restricted-area field goal percentage for the third straight season — but it leads the league in point differential (plus-4.5 per game) from the free throw line, despite a drop in its own attempts over the last few games. In the last two seasons, Portland has gone from 28th (in 2016-17) to 19th (last season) to second (this season) in opponent free throw rate.

ESPN: Blazers rank No. 4 (up 3)

What they wrote: The Blazers have won four straight after a big win over Boston on Sunday and joined Golden State as the only Western Conference teams with double-digit wins. Portland will next be embarking on an odd six-game trek that includes stops at the Lakers, Wolves, Wizards, Knicks, Bucks and Warriors. Portland doesn't have another home game until Nov. 25 against the Clippers.

Sports Illustrated: Blazers rank No. 5 (up 1)

What they wrote: [CJ] McCollum going off like he did Tuesday [when he scored 40 points in a win against the Bucks] is vital for Portland. both to sustain the Trail Blazers through the regular season and to propel them deeper into the postseason. Sometimes C.J.’s just going to need to give Damian Lillard a night off. Sometimes both of them will have to go berserk in order to get a W. Either way, it means we need C.J. making a fool of more and more defenders.

CBS Sports: Blazers rank No. 5 (up 2)

What they wrote: Zach Collins' emergence during his sophomore season has been a pleasant surprise for the Blazers. Head coach Terry Stotts has been playing Collins 21.5 minutes per game, up from 15.8 minutes per game last season.

The Athletic: Blazers rank No. 5 (up 1)

What they wrote: Are the Portland Trail Blazers the Toronto Raptors of the West? Portland doesn’t have the consistent regular season success of the Raptors over the last few seasons, but they do seem to have the same unsatisfying feeling they leave us with in the postseason every year. Currently, the Blazers are dominating the regular season. This is one of their best starts in franchise history. The Blazers are blowing teams out of the water, throwing their net rating up in the upper echelon of the NBA right now. And yet, I’m not sure how much anybody outside of Portland cares. The “I’m trying, Jennifer” efforts don’t quite pull us into believing this is the year Portland makes noise. However, the struggles of Houston and Utah early on should make a deep Portland playoff run even more likely and exciting.

Jared Cowley writes about the Trail Blazers and other topics for KGW.com. He's also the co-host of the 3-on-3 Blazers podcast (listen here). You can reach him on Twitter @jaredcowley.

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