5. Nicolas Batum is playing with great confidence and an expanded game. For several seasons, Batum 
has been an X-factor for the Blazers. However, this season he has really embraced his role as the guy who does a little of everything. His passing has improved greatly, especially in the pick-and-roll with Robin Lopez. His rebounding and defense have both been good. His ballhandling has gotten better. And his scoring remains pretty consistent.
It’s not just those individual elements of his game that are great, though. Batum has shown that he can step up when his team needs him most. If that means hitting a couple free throws to put away Indiana or dropping a dagger on Oklahoma City, Batum has the confidence to not worry about being the man for his team on every play as long as he can come through when the game is on the line.
6. A real center in Robin Lopez. Brother Brook is the Lopez with the All-Star credentials, but it is Robin who has had the more positive impact on his team. There’s almost no way to say specifically what Robin Lopez has done to help Portland rack up wins in the first month-plus of the season. It’s easier just to say that everything he has done has helped the Blazers win.
Lopez is blocking shots, setting good picks, rebounding and taking defensive attention away from Aldridge. He is scoring when it’s needed, making free throws, scrapping, throwing down dunks, and the list goes on. Some Blazers fans are still clamoring for Portland to make a trade and bring in Omer Asik. There’s no reason for that; the Blazers have their center, and his name is Robin Lopez.
7. The bench has been consistent and pretty darn good.
Mo Williams had a big stretch against Indiana. Dorell Wright had an inspiring five minutes in the second half against Oklahoma City. Thomas Robinson has been good and is getting better. Joel Freeland is probably one of the biggest surprises of this season. If any of those guys had played in Portland last season, year, the Blazers probably would have won at least a handful of games they lost.
With all of those guys getting minutes, it makes sense the Blazers are winning. Remember that this is a bench group that is still getting used to one another. And rookie combo guard C.J. McCollum hasn’t played yet. So there might be even better things on the horizon.
8. Wesley Matthews is continuing to develop as a player and leader.
Portland’s iron man has always played with intensity and heart, but this season Matthews also is playing with poise and trying to lead by example. Being a leader and playing with a little control to his in-born chaos will both extend his season (he played hurt when he shouldn’t have last season) and increase his value when he’s not hitting shots – which hasn’t been very often.
Matthews is shooting 50 percent from 3-point range, but he is now and probably always will be a streaky shooter. When he’s hitting, he’s hitting. When he isn’t, he really isn’t. But when he commits to leading the team with his defense or when he’s the first guy jumping up off the bench to applaud a great play made by the second unit, he can be incredibly valuable to this team even when his shots aren’t falling. Everybody has talked about Matthews’ offense during this hot start, but his leadership has been just as important.
9 and 10. Damian Lillard is playing like an All-Star, LaMarcus Aldridge is a superstar and they are building a pretty remarkable chemistry. Lillard and Aldridge are the primary reasons Portland tops the West and they need to be mentioned together, mostly because they are quickly becoming a pretty dynamic duo.
Aldridge’s numbers were way up when Andre Miller was chucking him four or five lobs a night, and LA and Brandon Roy had the Draft Day buddy thing going. But for my money, Aldridge never has had what he has with Lillard: a 
perfect complement in pick-and-roll and pick-and-pop situations. Defenders can’t hedge off LA because Lillard is a sharp passer and can take foes off the dribble. Defenders can’t go under screens to help on Aldridge because Lillard can hit from anywhere. Defenders can’t clog the lane against Lillard’s drive because Aldridge hasn’t missed an elbow jumper in what seems like weeks.
And that’s just in one basic offensive set. Lillard is running the offense and making plays when they need to be made. Aldridge is an absolute beast right now. Combine those two elements and you are looking at one of the best 1-2 punches in the league.
As an added bonus, Aldridge and Lillard are developing a pretty great off-the-court rapport, with each taking his share of the franchise burden. If they can keep learning and growing together, the ceiling for the Blazers is very, very high – not just this season, but well into this decade.
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Mike Acker writes From the Elbow, a Blazers column for the Willamette Week, Portland’s biggest alt weekly. He is the former editor and lead writer of the Rip City Project. You can follow him on Twitter.