NBA Power Rankings: Week Five
By Peter Owen
5. Portland Trail Blazers (Down 1)
Portland have ticked most of the boxes so far: winning streak, road wins, good defense and good offense. The loss in Phoenix can be chalked up to a one-off bad night at the office. The only slight on the Blazers is they’ve faced the 6th-easiest schedule thus far and are 4-3 against teams better than .500.
LaMarcus Aldridge, Damian Lillard and Wesley Matthews are combining to score an average 58 points per game, a deadly trio. Throw in Nicolas Batum’s do-it-all ability and 14.1 points per game and the Blazers are a pretty tough cover on the offensive end.
ORtg: 107.6, DRtg: 103.1
6. Los Angeles Clippers (Up 1)
They succeeded in trying to lose to the Pacers Sunday night, giving up seven fourth-quarter offensive rebounds including one off a missed Indiana free-throw that effectively sealed the game.
The loss of J.J. Redick hurts severely as he was providing brilliant floor spacing for Blake Griffin to work down low.
ORtg: 107.7, DRtg: 102.7