NBA 2018-19: Western Conference Power Rankings - Month 1

#2 Portland Trail Blazers

Their backcourt duo of McCollum and Lillard has predictably been the spine of their offence, and thus far, they look good for a top-half finish in the Western Conference standings come April

The preseason Vegas over/under bets are typically right, but this season, they've been on a tear at targeting the wrong teams in their predictions of a slowdown.

The Trail Blazers were slated not to make the playoffs according to their predictions, but that over/under of 43 looks more and more likely to be a seriously foolish bet for those who took the under on that one.

The Blazers sneakily got better in the offseason, adding shooting in the form of Seth Curry and Nik Stauskas, who've both been serviceable thus far, by and large.

The increased spacing benefits the likes of Zach Collins and Nurkic, who've both been playing starter-level basketball to start the season off.

Their backcourt duo of McCollum and Lillard has predictably been the spine of their offence, and thus far, they look good for a top-half finish in the Western Conference standings come April.

Evan Turner's improved play has obviously been a great asset too, although it remains to be seen how sustainable his efforts are through the 82-game grind that the NBA regular season is.