NBA Power Rankings: Where do the Pelicans rank 10 games in?
By Nick Alvarez
8. Portland Trail Blazers (7-5)
Damian Lillard is demanding we put some respect on the Portland Trail Blazers, so we’re doing just that, by putting them at number 8 in this edition of our NBA Power Rankings.
I’ll come right out in say, this looks like the best Portland roster that I’ve seen in years. The team still has Lillard and his co-star CJ McCollum in the backcourt, but now they’ve finally built the frontcourt up too. Carmelo Anthony, Derrick Jones Jr, and Robert Covington have finally given the Trail Blazers enough firepower on the wings to replace LaMarcus Aldridge. Unfortunately, this team just lost prized big-man, Jusuf Nurkic, to a fractured wrist. We’ll have to see how that affects them going forward.
9. Utah Jazz (7-4)
The Utah Jazz are a team that just models consistency in the NBA, for better or worst. Every year, they just find a way to end up right at the end of the top-10 in NBA Power Rankings.
That’s a credit to the infrastructure that Utah has built. The Donovan Mitchell-Rudy Gobert duo provides a brilliant inside-outside game, while the rest of Utah’s roster complements them. Head coach Quinn Synder is also one of the most underrated coaches in the league too. The only question about the Jazz is will they ever go all-in for a championship?
10. Dallas Mavericks (6-4)
RIght when it seemed like the Dallas Mavericks were on the verge of collapsing, they quickly raced back to life. That has caused them to race up these NBA Power Rankings to close out our top-10.
I credit this revival to Dallas’ head coach Rick Carlisle who has found a way to get Luka Doncic back to his All-NBA form while making some of the team’s new addition buy into his system. As a result of this, the Mavericks have gotten hot, sitting on a 4-game win streak at the moment. Their defense looks refreshed, and they’re about to get Kristaps Porzingis back too. It’s safe to say, you do not want to face the Mavericks right now!