With injuries taking out their regular guard rotation and a myriad of close losses not helping, the Portland Trail Blazers have just been trying to stay afloat lately. That reality was reflected in the latest power rankings from NBA.com’s John Schuhmann and The Athletic’s Law Murray (subscription required), who both took note of Portland’s injury issues while placing the Blazers at No. 20 on their respective lists.

NOTE: Both of these lists dropped on Monday morning before the Blazers’ comfortable 115-103 over the Giannis-less Milwaukee Bucks later that night.

In Murray’s countdown, he did the festive exercise of highlighting one thing each team is thankful for a month into the NBA season. For the Blazers, he spotlighted the offensive rebounding powers of second-year center Donovan Cling

See Full Page