5 Reasons for the Blazers' 10-Game Win Streak

#4 Defense

Jusuf Nurkic denies a shot at the rim

Ever since their Cinderella Playoff run in the 2015 postseason, everybody speculated that if the Blazers wanted to take the next step, they needed to choose one from their superstar guard duo of CJ McCollum and Damian Lillard, especially for its defensive benefit.

In the 2015-16 regular season, the Blazers had a defensive rating of 105.6, good for 20th in the league. There was certainly scope for improvement, instead, the front office upgraded at the center position from Mason Plumlee to Jusuf Nurkic in a mid-season trade (2016-17) with the Denver Nuggets.

For the 2016-17 season, their defensive rating witnessed a dip - 107.8 (20th best) but a stark improvement was seen after the injection of Nurkic to the squad. After the mid-season trade, the Blazers had a defensive rating of 105.6 (good for 12th best).

This year, they've taken another step forward. For the season so far, they are the 7th best defense with a rating of 104.1 but it gets better during their win streak - 99.3 (3rd best).

A huge part of their improved defense is a result of their team gang-rebounding. During this current win streak, they are the third best defensive rebounding team in the league (36.5 with the best defensive rebound percentage - 82.5%), which in turn reduces the opponent's second-chance points (9.8 - 3rd best) and points in the paint (43.6 - tied 6th best).

Their opponents during this streak aren't exactly easy walkover teams, despite that, the Blazers rank in the Top 3 when it comes to opponent's FG% (44.1% - 3rd best) and opponent's 3P% (32% - 2nd best).

While their offense has always been their calling card in the Lillard-McCollum era, this season and especially during this streak, it's their much-improved defense that ranks them among the top teams in terms of net rating.