NBA Power Rankings: Boston Celtics look vulnerable; Knicks rounding back into form?

27. Portland Trail Blazers

Even though this season hasn't gone as perhaps the Portland Trail Blazers hoped it would before the start of the year, there have been some bright spots that the team could theoretically hang their hat on. For one, even though he's struggled during his transition to the NBA, Scoot Henderson has had some bright moments during his rookie season. All isn't lost just yet for him. The same could be said about Anfernee Simons and Shaedon Sharpe. Deandre Ayton has played better down the stretch and that's certainly good to see with how bad he looked during the first half of the year.

Jerami Grant and Malcolm Brogdon also look like two valuable trade pieces that the Blazers will have in their back pockets heading into the offseason. All in all, the Blazers are still in a great position to be big players this offseason. Whether or not they'll be able to make the shift from lottery team to playoff hopeful over the course of the next few months is the ultimate question mark.

But there's no question that the Blazers have the raw talent where they're going to have a chance to pull it off. Heading into the offseason, the Blazers are certainly a team worth keeping an eye on.