Blazers Keeping Pace in Power Rankings Despite Loss vs. 76ers

The Portland Trail Blazers are on the road for their final long trip of the season, where they hope to make up some ground in the Western Conference standings and power rankings.

Here's a look at where the Blazers stand in the power rankings across the internet.

NBA.com, John Schuhmann (19, +1)

Philadelphia 76ers guard Cameron Payne drives past Portland Trail Blazers guard Scoot Henderson. | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

"Though the Warriors have lost five straight games, the Blazers (5-7 since the All-Star break) haven’t been able to catch them, and remain in 10th place in the West," Schuhmann wrote.

"Eight of the Blazers’ remaining 14 games are against those 10 teams that have worse records than they do. That includes two meetings with the Nets, whom they’ll visit on Monday, Game 2 of their five-game trip."

The Athletic, Law Murray (20, no change)

"Portland hasn’t had a game worth discussing in a long, long time. The last time the Blazers beat a team with a winning record was three weeks ago in Phoenix against a Suns team playing on zero days’ rest without Devin Booker, Dillon Brooks or Grayson Allen following a double-overtime win," Murray wrote.

"But they own the head-to-head tiebreaker against a Warriors team that is getting chopped down to Portland’s own size. Portland also has two more games left against the Clippers. You can’t just ignore it yet."

Clutch Points, Brett Siegel (20, no change)

"Despite the Warriors' struggles and continued losses, the Portland Trail Blazers have been unable to make up ground and pass them for the 9-seed in the West," Siegel wrote.

"Portland has not won back-to-back games since before the All-Star break, and Sunday's loss on the road against a depleted 76ers team will surely hurt the Blazers' confidence. The only good news is that the Trail Blazers can begin the week with back-to-back games against teams intentionally trying to lose, so their drought of back-to-back wins may finally come to an end."

Overview

The Blazers find themselves right smack dab in the middle of the play-in and lottery teams. They have been in this position for a few weeks now, but there is potential for them to move up. The Blazers schedule should ease up here in the next couple of weeks, and it will give the team an opportunity to move forward.

The Blazers will have an opportunity on this road trip to grab some wins against rebuilding teams in the Brooklyn Nets and Indiana Pacers. While things get tougher on the back end with matchups against the division rival Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets, the schedule eases up closer as the month of March comes to a close.

If the Blazers can win eight or nine of their final 14 games, they could be flirting with a .500 record for the first time since 2021.

At the end of the day, the win total won't necessarily matter as much as where the team is in the standings. It will be tricky to get up to No. 8, where the Los Angeles Clippers currently reside, but if they can squeeze up to No. 9, where the Golden State Warriors have been struggling, the team could host a game in the Play-In Tournament, which would afford them a better chance at moving on.