The Trail Blazers’ successes on offense balanced with their suspect defense to earn them a decent spot inside Basketball News’ latest edition of the Sour Rankings. Basketball News’ list turns the traditional power rankings formula on its head and takes a snapshot of the misery that a specific team might be enduring at that moment.
With injuries and poor defense in mind, the Blazers finished at No. 17 on the list (remember, No. 30 is the ideal place). Basketball News contributor Ethan Fuller pointed to Enes Kanter’s promotion to a feature role in his analysis of Portland’s placement in the rankings.