NBA Power Rankings: Brooklyn Nets rise after acquiring James Harden

12. Portland Trail Blazers

The good news is that it appears the Portland Trail Blazers avoided a bad start to the year – that’s something that plagued this team last season during the regular season. They’ve gotten off to a solid start and are currently in the top 8 of the West.

Question is, can they continue to play at this level without Jusuf Nurkic, who is expected to miss time with a fractured right wrist.

11. Denver Nuggets

Fresh off a run to the Western Conference Finals a year ago, many believed that the Denver Nuggets would pick up where they left off in the NBA’s restart bubble. However, the opposite has happened through the first few weeks of the season. They’ve gotten off to a rough start and have some questions about their immediate future.

Even though the Nuggets have one of the best offenses in the league, it’s their defense that has dragged this team down so far this season. The Nuggets may not have had an elite defense a year ago, but having a bottom six unit on that end of the floor will only limit this team’s potential.