NBA standings ordered by offensive rating: Blazers are at a serious disadvantage

The Portland Trail Blazers have outperformed expectations so far this season with a 7-12 record. The eye test shows they've been playing much better basketball in November with a healthy Shaedon Sharpe and Robert Williams III back in the mix (although they have recently taken a step back with other injuries).

GM Joe Cronin has emphasized building a roster based around young, lengthy, and athletic players, which has translated primarily on the defensive end. With players like Williams, Toumani Camara, Donovan Clingan, and Deni Avdija, defense is going to be the Blazers' team identity and calling card going forward with their emerging core. It's essential to have a solid defense come playoff time. But until this team significantly improves offensively, it's going to be an uphill battle to make the playoffs.

Blazers have the second-worst offensive rating in the league

Here are the bottom five teams in offensive rating as of Nov. 29:

Unsurprisingly, these five teams are struggling to win games in 2024-25. Here are the records of each of these teams:

• Wizards: 2-15

• Blazers: 7-12

• 76ers: 3-14

• Pelicans: 4-15

• Hornets: 6-12

The next two teams with the worst offensive rating are the Utah Jazz (4-14) and Detroit Pistons (8-12). In contrast, the three best offensive ratings are the Cleveland Cavaliers (17-2), New York Knicks (10-8), and Boston Celtics (15-3), further proving the importance of offensive rating.

The Blazers have a better record than the four other teams that are bottom in offensive rating, but that may not be sustainable. Portland has won several close games that could have gone either way due to clutch shots, and it's only a matter of time before their luck runs out in that aspect.

They also have the fourth-worst point differential in the league at -8.4. Their point differential and offensive rating suggest that the Blazers are a bottom-five team in the league, indicating that they could end the season with a win percentage even lower than their current 36.8 percent. That is unless they significantly improve their offensive rating.

Why is the Blazers' offensive rating so weak?

However, the Blazers' current roster construction doesn't provide much optimism for that. They lack a true floor general to run the offense, finished last in the league in three-point shooting last season, and did nothing to address this glaring issue during the offseason.

The Blazers lack in three critical statistical offensive categories -- three-point shooting, assists, and turnovers. Portland is currently tied for fifth worst in three-point percentage (32.9), second-to-last in assists per game (21.5), and third worst in turnovers per game (17.1). Not only are they not maximizing possessions with so many turnovers, but they aren't optimizing the ones they get, either, with little ball movement and poor shooting.

The Blazers have the 16th-best defensive rating at 113.6, which should keep them in games. But they're already at a disadvantage with such an inefficient offense, especially in the challenging Western Conference.