NBA Power Rankings: Knicks may be a disaster; Warriors are dominating the West

22. Portland Trail Blazers

After the way last season went for the Portland Trail Blazers, I'm not sure there were many who were confident in what to expect from the team this year. And through the first month of the regular season, the Blazers have been pretty up and down, which is not all that surprising to see from a team still in the early stages of a rebuild. However, as the Blazers continue to push forward into the rest of this season, there are a few things that must be figured out before the end of the year.

First, the Blazers need to figure out what the plan is going to be for Jerami Grant and Anfernee Simons. During the offseason, it was reported that the Blazers were open to trading one or both of these players. Has that changed any? Second, the Blazers need to find out what they have in Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe. While they both carry plenty of potential, the Blazers need to know for certainty if they're part of the foundational core or not. And finally, the Blazers need to sort out the Deandre Ayton situation.

21. Milwaukee Bucks

The Milwaukee Bucks haven't gotten off to the best start this season but I also don't believe it would be right to give up on the team entirely. At least not yet. It would be insane to give up on the Bucks until we see this team back at full strength. Of course, the problem is, we don't know exactly when - or if - that will happen anytime soon. The indications continue to be that Khris Middleton, who has been sidelined since the offseason due to surgery, is still a few weeks away from returning to the floor.

Assuming that is the case, there's a chance things could continue to linger down a dark path for the Bucks before they start turning around. But if Milwaukee can hang around and not dig themselves into too big of a hole before the return of Middleton, this is a team that could make a run up the Eastern Conference standings. Even more so considering that aside from the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers, the East has left much to be desired as a competitive conference so far this season.