Blazers: As other teams falter, Portland has chance to move into fifth place in the West tonight

On Feb. 4, the Trail Blazers lost at Indiana 100-87.

On the same night, the Memphis beat visiting Cleveland 112-105.

The two results moved the Grizzlies past Portland into eighth place in the Western Conference, taking the Blazers out of what would have been a playoff spot if the season ended then.

Things have turned for the Blazers in the 12 days since they dropped to No. 9. Tonight, they play the New Orleans Hornets at the Rose Garden with a chance, with a win, to move into the No. 5 spot in the West standings as they head into the All-Star Game break.

Portland (31-24) moved up the standings with some help as other teams faltered, but also has done plenty to help its cause. The Blazers are coming off a 3-0 road trip that moved them past Denver and Utah in the West standings.

The Blazers' drop to No. 9 lasted one day as Portland won and Memphis lost the next day. That kicked off five straight Portland wins, the NBA's longest active winning streak.

The Blazers started 2011 at 17-16, but have gone 14-8 in the new year -- a .636 winning percentage that, over a full season, would mean 52 wins.

There's one more piece of business to sort out today. It's possible that shooting guard Brandon Roy could play tonight. Tuesday, on "Blazers Courtside," Blazers GM Rich Cho said a decision on Roy's availability will be made after the morning shootaround, which starts at 10 a.m.

Roy last played on Dec. 15. He played in both previous games against New Orleans. On Nov. 13 in New Orleans, he shot 1 for 7 from the field and scored two points in 22 minutes before pulling himself from the game in the third quarter with pain in his left knee. The Blazers lost 107-87.

Roy sat out the next three games, then returned Nov. 26 against the Hornets, this time at the Rose Garden. Roy scored 27 points and shot 10 for 20, although he also seemed to hobble and wince. The Blazers lost again, 97-78.

Whether Roy plays or not, the Hornets and Blazers seem like very different teams than they were in November. If you're wondering, here's what LaMarcus Aldridge did in those two losses: he scored 12 and 14 points and shot a combined 10 for 29 from the field.

[UPDATE, 10:49 a.m.: GM Rich Cho tells The Oregonian's Jason Quick that Roy will not play tonight.]

Meanwhile, here's what is happening with the other teams in the lower half of the Western Conference playoff picture:

• Memphis is the one other team making a strong move. On Tuesday, the Grizzlies (31-26) beat visiting Philadelphia 102-91 behind 21 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists from former Blazer Zach Randolph. Memphis, which finished its pre-All-Star schedule, has won 12 of its last 15 games, including its last four. There could be an injury issue as forward Rudy Gay suffered a "strained" left shoulder Tuesday. The Memphis Commercial Appeal reports that the injury was bad enough that Gay shot two free throws one-handed, then left the game. He will have further tests.

• New Orleans (33-24) lost 102-89 at Golden State on Tuesday, losing for the sixth time in seven games and eighth time in 10 games. The bad stretch followed a 10-game winning streak by New Orleans, which has been without center Emeka Okafor (strained oblique muscle) for its last eight games. The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports that Okafor won't be back until after the All-Star break.

• Utah played its second game since Jerry Sloan resigned as coach last Thursday. Under his replacement, Tyrone Corbin, the Jazz have lost twice to the Suns, including 102-101 in Phoenix on Tuesday. And look who helped -- former Blazers forward Channing Frye, who had a career-high 31 points along with 11 rebounds. The Jazz (31-25) have lost 12 of their last 16 games, including three in a row.

• Denver (31-25) was idle Tuesday but remains mired in trade rumors about star forward Carmelo Anthony, and figures to remain so until he is traded, or the Feb. 24 trade deadline passes. In the meantime, the Nuggets have lost seven of their last 10 games.

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