POWER RANKINGS » NO MAJOR CHANGE TO RANKINGS IN WEEK 4 →

Ten games into the Trail Blazers season and we have a large enough sample size to see patterns begin to emerge that could be early indicators as to the identity of the 2021-22 iteration of this team as they incorporate new players and a new system under first-year head coach Chauncey Billups. After a tough east-coast road trip that had the Blazers dropping three in a row to the Hornets, Sixers, and Cavs, they were able to grind out timely wins at home over the Pacers and Lakers.

Saturday’s game against the Lakers was the third time this season a Blazers’ opponent has been held below 100 points on less than 40% shooting, matching the total number of such games throughout all of last season. Portland has won all three of these games at home by a combined 54 points contributing to a 5-1 record at home. Portland also boasts top-five defensive and offensive ratings when defending home court. Road games have been a different story. The Blazers are 0-4 on the road this season and have the second-worst defensive rating away from home. 

When asked after Saturday's game about the disparity in the team’s performance between home and away games, Damian Lillard highlighted the importance of fan support, comfortability, and rest saying, “that’s why they call it a home-court advantage.” When asked the same question Nurkic added that “to be able to win a championship, you need to win on the road,” and “I feel like we just need that one.”

For the team with the league’s longest distance to travel per season at around 45,000 miles, it’s important to find that comfortability and be able to generate that spark on the road. With a four-game road trip coming up against the Clippers, Suns, Rockets, and Nuggets, the Blazers have a chance to prove that they can win on the road or risk sliding early in a packed Western Conference.

Here’s where the Trail Blazers sit in the fourth edition of the weekly power rankings after another week of mixed results.

With how pronounced Damian Lillard’s early-season struggles have been, there are probably multiple factors (including an “irritated” core injury) involved. As noted last week, the Blazers’ offense is different, having seen big jumps in both ball and player movement. Lillard’s touches per 36 minutes (82) are at the same level as they were last season, but a higher percentage of those touches are originating in the frontcourt. He’s had possession of the ball for 18% of his minutes on the floor, down from 23% last season. And the percentage of his shots that have come after seven or more dribbles is down from 44% to 34%.

Lillard’s shooting (34% from the field, 22% from 3-point range through Friday) is still the strangest storyline of the first three weeks. The nadir might have been a blown layup to take the lead late in Cleveland on Wednesday. It led to a Cavs fast break and dropped the Blazers to 0-4 on the road, where they’ve allowed more than 115 points per 100 possessions (the league’s second worst road mark). Robert Covington hit three big 3s late to help them come back against Indiana on Friday, and Lillard drained a season-high six 3s against the Lakers on Saturday. Time will tell if that was the start of the inevitable hot streak.

The start of the Blazers’ four-game trip is their third meeting with the Clippers already. They’ve split the first two meetings, and neither one was close.

Schuhmann has the Trail Blazers behind the Raptors at No. 13 and ahead of the Mavericks at No. 15.

The Blazers capped off a tumultuous week by winning their second straight game and blowing out the short-handed Lakers 105-90. But it was a tough week in Portland, not only because they were on a three-game slide earlier in the week. The franchise announced last week that it had hired an independent firm to investigate and review concerns about the workplace environment under general manager Neil Olshey. It's just another storyline to add to the drama that has surrounded the Blazers since the offseason, with speculation surrounding Damian Lillard's future and some pushback over the hiring of Chauncey Billups as head coach.

The folks at ESPN have the Trail Blazers behind the Hornets at No. 17 and ahead of the Hawks at No. 19.

The Portland Trail Blazers’ problem the last couple years (aside from injuries) has been their offense is great and their defense is mediocre at best. So far this season, they’ve been a top-10 offense, and their recent wins over the Lakers and Pacers have helped boost them from a bottom-10 defense to middle of the road. How much of this should be attributed to a trend in the right direction? Is Chauncey Billups changing the defensive exploits of this team? The Blazers aren’t sending opponents to the free-throw line, and they’re rebounding tremendously. But they still give up a high percentage of made shots, especially from deep. I do think their defense will struggle and this thing hasn’t turned in the right direction on that end of the floor. But also, their offense has been good, and Damian Lillard hasn’t even really gotten rolling yet.

Harper has the Trail Blazers behind the Knicks at No. 13 and ahead of the Mavericks at No. 15.

Damian Lillard’s shooting slump mercifully ended against the Lakers on Saturday, with Lillard connecting on six of his 14 three-point attempts. The Blazers have been better defensively, but ugly losses to the injury-ravaged Sixers and Cavaliers on a recent road trip showed they have a long way to go.

Mannix has the Trail Blazers behind the Hawks at No. 18 and ahead of the Kings at No. 20.

10 games into the season, Lillard has yet to find his shooting stroke. He isn’t just performing below his usual All-Star standards — his numbers are flat-out bad. He is shooting less than 40 percent from the field and 30 percent from 3-point range. Does this mean the Trail Blazers should panic? No, of course not. Lillard can get hot at any time. Until he does, though, they will struggle to consistently win games.

McGregor has the Trail Blazers behind the Wizards at No. 16 and ahead of the Celtics at No. 18.