Each week, I'll be translating numberFire's NBA power rankings, which can be found The Nets reportedly lost $144 million last year. To give some perspective, the Wizards lost the second-most money in the league at $13 million.

But at least they haven't sacrificed their future for this current non-contender. Oh wait, they didn't have a draft pick this year, and they already traded away their unprotected first-round picks for 2016 and 2018. If we were doing a 'future rankings' column, the Nets would likely sit in last place.

Sadly, unless they want to spend boatloads of money on new free agents every year to keep the league's hippest (and hipster-iest) arena buzzing for each home game, this is the Nets window to win a title. If they're going to contend this season, something will have to change.

Maybe they should jump into the Rondo trade discussion? Maybe they should let Iso Joe Johnson know that he has teammates? Maybe they should bring former All-Star Brook Lopez off the bench? Last season, oddly enough, it was his foot injury that ignited this bunch. They were 5-12 with Lopez in the lineup and 39-26 without the big man. If the Nets continue to play at this level, they'll be back in the lottery for the first time in 3 years.

15. Miami Heat (nERD: 49.5, Record: 8-7, last week: 10)
14. Cleveland Cavaliers (nERD: 49.7, Record: 6-7, last week: 15)
13. Phoenix Suns (nERD: 54.1, Record: 9-6, last week: 14)
12. Sacramento Kings (nERD: 57.7, Record: 9-5, last week: 11)
11. Los Angeles Clippers (nERD: 58.3, Record: 8-5, last week: 13)
10. Chicago Bulls (nERD: 59.6, Record: 9-6, last week: 7)
9. San Antonio Spurs (nERD: 61.9, Record: 9-4, last week: 16)
8. New Orleans Pelicans (nERD: 62.9, Record: 7-6, last week: 9)
7. Washington Wizards (nERD: 63.7, Record: 9-4 , last week: 8)
6. Houston Rockets (nERD: 68.3, Record: 11-3, last week: 1)
5. Memphis Grizzlies (nERD: 72.2, Record: 12-2, last week: 6)
4. Portland Trailblazers (nERD: 73.5, Record: 11-3, last week: 4)

The Blazers are rolling (no pun intended.) They've won 8 straight and 10 of their last 11. Their only loss since November 2nd was a four-point nail-biter in L.A. against the Clippers. They've won all, but one game by more than five points and their average margin of victory during the win streak is 11.

So why isn't Portland our top team? They've enjoyed a friendly schedule thus far, playing 9 of their 14 games at home in the Rose Garden. They've only played two road games against teams with winning records, and they've lost them both. That said, their schedule doesn't get much harder. They'll only play one winning team in their next 10 games. The Blazers could sport the NBA's best record come Christmas day.

They had one of the best starting lineups in the league last season. Their starting five of Damian Lillard, Wesley Matthews, Nicolas Batum, LaMarcus Aldridge and Robin Lopez played over 1,300 minutes together last season - second only to the Pacers starting five in minutes. That Blazers unit dominated the league on the glass and shot a ton of threes. They averaged 7.9 more points per 100 possessions than their opponents.

This season, that lineup is even better, averaging 10.9 more points per 100 possessions than their opponents. More impressively, there has been almost no drop off since second year pro Allen Crabbe took the injured Batum's spot. That unit is besting their opponents by 10.7 points per 100 possessions. Crabbe played less than four minutes total in the first seven games, but has played at least 10 minutes every game since and he has yet to post a negative plus-minus.

If the Blazers continue to win in blowout fashion, they'll get more minutes from non-starters. They need to continue to develop a bench unit that hardly played last season and was exposed in the team's second round loss to the deep and well rested San Antonio Spurs.

3. Golden State Warriors (nERD: 76.9, Record: 11-2, last week: 3)
2. Toronto Raptors (nERD: 78.4, Record: 12-2, last week: 5)
1. Dallas Mavericks (nERD: 84.3, Record: 10-5, last week: 2)