NBA Power Rankings Week 19: April review and the rising Phoenix Suns

10. Portland Trail Blazers

Last Week: Lost to Memphis Grizzlies 120-113, Beat Indiana Pacers 133-112, Beat Memphis Grizzlies 130-109, Beat Brooklyn Nets 128-109

This Week: 5/2 at Milwaukee Bucks, 5/4 at Milwaukee Bucks, 5/6 at Dallas Mavericks, 5/8 at Denver Nuggets

The Portland Trail Blazers started to bounce back over the course of April after a rough stretch of basketball led to the organization starting to question everything. Damian Lillard is still far from healthy but he is doing what he can to keep the team in contention. April was certainly a down month for him, averaging 23.0 points, 6.2 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game on shooting splits of .392/.375/.845.

That level of efficiency from the field is a killer and is just one of the reasons the typically high-octane Blazers ranked ninth in offensive efficiency. For a team so bad at defense (23rd last month), any sort of slippage in terms of scoring efficiency will spell disaster in a Western Conference full of contenders. Wins to end the month against the Memphis Grizzlies and Brooklyn Nets are promising, but are they a harbinger of things to come or a mirage?

The Blazers are hoping is it the former. Any sort of early flameout in the playoffs is likely to be met with changes, starting (but unlikely stopping) with Terry Stotts. The Western Conference is highly competitive and Damian Lillard is likely to go down as the best Blazer ever. Building the right team to compete at the highest level, however, is still hard to envision.