Blazers Plummet Down Latest NBA Power Rankings After Rough Week

Is Portland beginning its tank in earnest?

Dec 6, 2024; Portland, Oregon, USA; Portland Trail Blazers (from left to right) Anfernee Simons (1), Shaedon Sharpe (17), Duop Reath (26), Jerami Grant (9), and Deni Avdija (8) walk back to the court after a timeout during the first half against the Utah Jazz at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-Imagn Images | Soobum Im-Imagn Images

The Portland Trail Blazers appear to be embracing the tank in earnest at this stage of their 2024-25 season.

After a surprisingly strong 6-8 start to the year, Portland has gone just 2-8 across its last 10 contests.

The Trail Blazers are currently on a four-game losing streak, which includes three straight defeats last week. The most egregious of those losses, of course, was its 141-99 blowout defeat to the lowly Utah Jazz, who at 5-18 are one of the few teams actually below the Trail Blazers in the Western Conference standings. Utah is the No. 14 seed to Portland's No. 13 seed.

The New Orleans Pelicans, though fresh off a 49-33 season, are stunningly the worst team in the West by record, at 5-20.

John Schuhmann of NBA.com has subsequently penalized Portland for its lackluster week, dropping the club a whopping five spots in his league power rankings, from No. 23 to No. 28, sandwiched between the No. 27 Jazz and the No. 29 Pelicans. Specifically, Schuhmann lambasts the Trail Blazers' defense, the struggles of starting point guard Anfernee Simons, and an apparent predilection for disturbing point differentials in losses (overall, the Trail Blazers have a -9.6 points per game differential on the year, the third worst in the league).

"The Blazers ranked 17th defensively through Nov. 30, a nice improvement for a team that ranked 23rd on that end of the floor last season and no higher than 27th in the four seasons before that," Schuhmann writes. "But they allowed an amazing 135 points per 100 possessions in their first three games this month to fall back into the bottom 10. And it’s not like they were facing three great offenses; Two of the three opponents — the Clippers and Jazz — rank in the bottom 10 offensively."

Simons' horrific shooting was specifically targeted as a cause for greater concern by Schuhmann.

Read More: Anfernee Simons' Struggles Could Signal Time for a Change in Portland

"Anfernee Simons had a solid stretch of three games ending with 27 points on 8-for-11 shooting against Dallas eight days ago. But he’s shot just 13-for-39 (including 3-for-19 from 3-point range) over the last three," Schuhmann observes. "Simons has seen a drop in usage rate, but also a big drop in efficiency from last season."

Next up for Portland is a bout with the 12-12 San Antonio Spurs on Friday.

More Trail Blazers: Portland Taking Away Big Lessons From 42-Point Blowout Loss, Looking Ahead to Lakers