Ranking the Portland Trail Blazers in the 2022 Western Conference

Middle five West teams

Minnesota Timberwolves

The Minnesota Timberwolves could easily be in the bottom five teams this season, but they have what the other teams in the bottom five don’t have, an All-NBA player in Karl-Anthony Towns.

Towns, combined with a fit D’Angelo Russell and the exciting Anthony Edwards, give this team a playoff ceiling. Health and putting it all on the floor are key for this team though.

Memphis Grizzlies

The Memphis Grizzlies, similar to the Timberwolves, have a young exciting squad but are coming off a playoff appearance themselves in 2021. With Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr, and a strong core of role players, they are a definite fringe playoff team and at least a shoo-in for the play-in game.

Golden State Warriors

The Golden State Warriors were the hardest team to rank on this list, as there is a good chance, if Klay Thompson comes back strongly in December, that they are a top-five seed in the West. But, with an aging squad and the reliance of Thompson when he comes back they may only sit in the six-eight seeds in the West.

Denver Nuggets

The Denver Nuggets were one of the best teams in the league in the 2021 season. Though they will be without star guard Jamal Murray for much of the year, they will still have 2021 MVP Nikola Jokic and the ever-improving Michael Porter Jr.

The Nuggets will still likely be a top-six seed in the West.

Portland Trail Blazers

The Blazers will be one of the stronger teams in the West in the 2022 regular season, and will likely sit between the third and sixth seeds in the conference. With a healthy team, an improved bench defense, and a newly re-signed Norman Powell, they will likely win 45 plus games in one of the most competitive Western conferences we have seen in years. In most seasons, this is a 50 win team. Maybe they hit that target, but the teams at the top may make that difficult.