PORTLAND, Ore. — Put on those rose-colored glasses, Rip City. Your Blazers are No. 1.
That's according to Sports Illustrated and CBS Sports, which both moved Portland into the top spot in their weekly power rankings on Monday. It's the first time the Blazers have been ranked No. 1 in any power rankings list this season — and probably for many seasons before it.
The Blazers weren't at the top of every publication's power rankings this week. Their placement ranged from No. 1 to No. 4. But Sports Illustrated's Rohan Nadkarni, who moved the Blazers past both the Rockets and Raptors to occupy the top spot, said he couldn't ignore Portland's run of success.
"The Blazers have won 13 straight, so I can't keep them out of the top spot any longer," Nadkarni wrote. "I'm curious what long-term effects this streak (and this season) will have on Portland, but for now PDX fans should certainly enjoy the ride.
"The streak will certainly be tested this week, with games against the Rockets, Celtics and Thunder on deck. Portland could make a statement to the rest of the league if it comes out of that stretch unscathed."
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You can certainly make the case that the Blazers are the best team in the NBA right now. Their point differential since the All-Star break is +12.6, which leads the league by more than two points.
Also, the Blazers' run of success has come against one of the most challenging schedules in the NBA. Portland has defeated the Warriors (twice), the Jazz, the Timberwolves, the Thunder, the Cavaliers, the Clippers and the Heat during their win streak.
The Blazers' most challenging stretch of the season awaits them. The Rockets, who boast the best record in the NBA (56-14) are in town Tuesday. The Celtics (47-23) come to town Friday and then the Blazers play road games against the Thunder (43-29) on Sunday and the Pelicans (40-30) on Tuesday.
Nine of Portland's remaining 12 games are against teams with records better than .500 and seven of the 12 are on the road.
It should be an exciting finish to the regular season.
Here's a look at how the Blazers fared in the most recent batch of NBA power rankings.
Sports Illustrated: Blazers rank No. 1 (up 2)
What they wrote: The Blazers have won 13 straight, so I can’t keep them out of the top spot any longer. I’m curious what long-term effects this streak (and this season) will have on Portland, but for now PDX fans should certainly enjoy the ride. The streak will certainly be tested this week, with games against the Rockets, Celtics and Thunder on deck. Portland could make a statement to the rest of the league if it comes out of that stretch unscathed.
CBS Sports: Blazers rank No. 1 (up 2)
What they wrote: We've seen speculation in the past on whether the Trail Blazers should keep Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum together. They have two similar skill sets that overlap. Is one holding back the other? It's a question worth asking, but right now those two are the reason Portland looks so great.
NBA.com: Blazers rank No. 4 (no change)
What they wrote: The Blazers still have nine of their last 12 games against teams with winning records (and five of those nine on the road), but their 13-game winning streak has given them a three-game cushion in the loss column for third place in the West, as well as the tiebreaker over the fourth-place Thunder. Damian Lillard has led the way offensively, averaging 30.5 points per game during the streak, and it's been about more than just hot shooting. (In fact, he ranks just 64th in effective field goal percentage among 149 players who have attempted at least 100 shots since the start of the streak.) He has attempted 48 free throws per 100 shots from the field during the streak, up from 35 per 100 over his first 50 games. And when a guy shoots 91 percent from the line, that makes a difference. He's on pace to be just the eighth different player to shoot 90 percent or better on at least seven free throw attempts per game (in a minimum of 50 games).
ESPN: Blazers rank No. 4 (no change)
What they wrote: The Blazers extended their win streak Sunday to 13 games, which is tied for the third longest in franchise history (their longest was 16 straight in 1990-91). Portland has also dominated during the streak, averaging an NBA-best point differential of 12.1 per game since Valentine's Day, the first day of the win streak.
USA Today: Blazers rank No. 4 (up 1)
What they wrote: The Blazers, who haven't lost since before the All-Star break, close out the season with the second-toughest remaining schedule in the Western Conference (nine of their 12 remaining games are against above-.500 teams).
Jared Cowley is a digital producer at KGW and one of the co-hosts of 3-on-3 Blazers. You can reach him on Twitter at twitter.com/jaredcowley.
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