Just looking at the Hollinger Power Rankings as of today (January 8th) and it is amazing how close the Northwest Division race looks (excluding the Kevin Durant Boxcar Kids, sorry Oklahoma). Denver has a lead with their 25-12 record but just lost their star scorer for 3+ weeks. Utah is banged up and Boozer may not be back for more than a month. And Portland is right in between record wise and is also going on game 4 without Roy.

Hollinger Power Rankings

The Power Rankings show all three teams ranked 5-7.

Utah at #5 with 103.911

Denver at #6 with 103.844

Portland at #7 with 103.809

I think that all of these teams are very talented and could potentially win the Northwest Division. One thing that makes any prediction difficult is that all three are almost definitely going to improve by the end of the season.

Utah: If they get back Boozer and Williams gets healthy they are the same team that dominated the Northwest last year, plus an improved Ronnie Brewer and Paul Millsap coming off the bench.

Denver: They are still improving with the addition of Billups. As they continue to adjust to his style of running the offense they will only get better on the offensive end. Also, Nene is having a break out season and providing a strong post presence on both ends of the court.

Portland: I think we all know why this team is going to get even better. The most obvious are a Pritchard Trade for consolidating talent and the development of rookies (Oden, Rudy, Batum, Bayless) and a young team in general.

But it is difficult to determine which has the most potential to improve. Utah is returning all-stars but will they be at full strength? Will a Portland trade happen? How much better can the Nuggets get with Billups? How much better will the Blazers young core improve as the season drags into the second half? Essentially none of these can be compared because they have a lot of variables. However, there is one factor that will have a significant impact: Strength of Schedule.

Of the three teams leading the Northwest Division the Blazers have the highest Strength of Schedule numbers according to John Hollinger's calculations. Their SOS is a whopping .546!! That is the second highest in the NBA (The Wizards hold the highest SOS at .556), Utah is at .481 and Denver is at .507. An improvement through trade and/or development of a young team COMBINED with an easier schedule is an equation for more wins in the second half of the season.

Considering these factors, I believe, barring injury (**knock on wood**), the Blazers will win the Northwest Division. I analyzed our chances trying to avoid my inherent homerism but I know I am biased. If you can set aside your subjectivity, vote in the totally objective poll below.

I have tried to get on the other teams but had little luck and team 4 was already full by the time i got to work this morning.....so its time for BlazersEdge team 5. I'm looking for people that are serious and looking to be very good and competitive. There will be posts on the team site to give additional information. Only do this if you have a lot of time to kill in front of a computer at work or school. Also be willing to be flexible on what type of player you are guard, forward, center.

UPDATE: We are now a complete team. Thanks everyone who joined and if there is still interest then a 6th team might be in order. This great idea should get most of us through the rest of the summer until the NBA Pre-Season starts.

Team Name: Just Blaze

Password: Oden