Power Rankings have always been a mysterious art, and part of that art is definitely opinion. Needless to say, my opinion is solely mine and a large majority of readers will likely disagree with me.
With training camps for NBA teams starting next week, most rosters are all but secured. Some players are fighting for playoff spots; while some players are still looking for contracts. While the biggest free agent players are signed with their teams for the upcoming season, few players are still left in the dark with their future unknown (Nate Robinson, Stephon Marbury, Raymond Felton). But the high impact players are gearing up for the next season, and as training camp begins, let’s take a look at where teams stand.
30. Sacramento Kings – A team full of wing players, if K-Mart can stay healthy, they still might be somewhat entertaining. After going through one of their worst seasons ever last year, it is going to be tough to get back up.
29. New Jersey Nets – It’s almost as if this team wanted to have a terrible roster to lose fans so ensure a move to Brooklyn. Needless to say, Devin Harris with Courtney Lee will be fun to watch.
28. New York Knicks – I guess we have to wait to see what happens next season. But this line up will be a struggle for the city of New York next year. Even fan-favorite, Nate Robinson’s NYC career is still in limbo. Do note: reserve shooting guard Sun Yue has more championship rings than the entire roster.
27. Indiana Pacers – Lineup might look poor, but could definitely be deceiving. But it depends on how well Hansbrough adapts to the NBA. Granger and T.J. Ford won’t be able to get anywhere alone.
26. Minnesota Timberwolves – It’s been a depressing summer thanks to Ricky Rubio. But new coach, Kurt Rambis has a number of young players to begin molding. One person is happy about Rubio’s mess…Jonny Flynn.
25. Charlotte Bobcats – Even the chance to rekindle the outlandish relationship with Larry Brown wasn’t enough for Iverson to come to Charlotte; his initial choice. Maybe Gerald Henderson will be the player Coach K hoped him to be at Duke. Enter D.J. Augustin onto the list of top point guards?
24. Milwaukee Bucks – Finally, all eyes are not on Michael Redd. They are on Brandon Jennings. Maybe this will loosen up Redd and he’ll start hitting jumpers and not finding injuries to sit out.
23. Oklahoma City Thunder – Kevin Durant with James Harden. Westbrook with Jeff Green. Enough said. This team will be running all season long. Still a growing team, management has created a great core to build with.
22. Philadelphia 76ers – Philly had a good team with just Andre Miller and AI 2.0 With an Elton Brand they were supposed to have a great team, without any shooters. Take away the team’s point guard and there is not a lot of positive signs.
21. Memphis Grizzlies – AI – OJ – Gay: that’s some offensive power. Throw in Hasheem “The Dream” with a full array of talented big men, and this team might surprise some people.
20. Golden State Warriors – Monta. Captain Jack. Maggette. And now…Stephen Curry. This team will never run out of offense, but can they play defense with the bigs on the West side on a regular basis will be an issue all season long.
19. Detroit Pistons – After years of so much success, Detroit is officially in a rebuilding year…with Prince and Rip as starters, or is it Gordon? Such a tragic story. Joe Dumars only hope: Rodney Stuckey is the next Isaiah Thomas.
18. Phoenix Suns – I really don’t have anything to say about this team. Oh wait, yeah I do. Steve Kerr.
17. Houston Rockets – Let’s call this season redemption year. After season after season of failure, Tracy McGrady has a lot to prove. And it goes all on him since we won’t see Yao likely all year. Team is full of players who had their coming out parties last year…they’ll have to be twice as good this year.
16. Atlanta Hawks – You have a team with offense coming from nearly all ends of the court and add another pure scoring guard in Jamal Crawford. What is the end result? Let’s put it this way. Jamal Crawford has been an offensive threat for the past 5 seasons shooting over 40% but has not played one playoff game.
15. Toronto Raptors – This team is full of players that were failed projects on other teams (Marcus Banks, Jarret Jack, Reggie Evans, Patrick O’Bryant, Amir Johnson, Marcos Bellinelli). Throw that in with Bosh, Calderon, Bargnani and now Turkoglu and you’ll probably get the same result, another under achieving season.
14. Chicago Bulls – Chicago might miss Air Gordon’s offense, they might not; obnoxious or not. But USC’s Taj Gibson will hopefully become Chicago’s answer for an effective body in the post. Joakim Noah and Tyrus Thomas gone by mid-season? Possibly. By the way, the thought behind bringing back Jannergo Pargo (from Italy) and Lindsey Hunter (he’s 38!) to play behind Derrick Rose is interesting, but this might keep Rose healthy for the playoffs.
13. New Orleans Hornets – The franchise finally got rid of Chandler, but is Okafor the answer to getting the Hornets to the next level? Consistent shooters has been an issue the past two seasons. Maybe they need to send failed project Peja Stojakovic, Morris Peterson or James Posey to Toronto.
12. Miami Heat – We all know W-Wade is going to ball. But with Beasley finally returning, is he going to be a distraction or is he going to be that Kansas State 26.2 and 12.4 beast? Beasley is definitely the key to this team’s success, or the Miami-Wade relationship is coming to an end.
11. Los Angeles Clippers – Last year, this team dealt with injuries all season. This year, I have some high hopes. As do all of the closet Clipper fans. Blake Griffin has some LBJ-esque expectations to bring the Clippers back (wait, scratch that last word) to relevance. They have a point guard, a budding two guard, a developed small forward, Griffin and two starting centers. All they need is a coach.
10. Portland Trail Blazers – Greg Oden, I beg you to start playing basketball. For the sake of seeing Brandon Roy become one of the most complete players in the NBA and on a non-market saturated team…With Andre Miller coming to town, Roy will be able to focus less on getting his team involved and more on being that top tier shooting guard in the league that he very well could become this season.
9. Dallas Mavericks – You keep Jason Kidd. You add Shawn Marion, Drew Gooden and Tim Thomas. You lose Brandon Bass and try to get Gortat and fail. Dallas has a pretty solid (but aging) line up with Kidd, Terry, Howard, Marion and Dirk but that doesn’t mean this Dallas team will be a top team, let alone a top team in the state. Can Howard and Marion play together? And…Erick Dampier is still the Dallas starting center?
8. Washington Wizards – Some might be shocked that I am putting a lottery team so high. But if there is one entertaining story line I am ready for this season, it is the return of Agent Zero. The trio of Arenas, Butler and Jamison is unreal; add in Stevenson and now a sharpshooter in Mike Miller and Randy Foye, this team has some pieces to really scare some teams. They remind me of the Phoenix Suns in the early 2000s (Nash, Johnson, Barbosa, Stoudemire)
7. Denver Nuggets – In the playoffs last season, we saw glimpses of how remarkably good this team can be. But as good as Dahntay Jones was (or wasn’t), losing him might be more bad than good. As odd as it sounds, Arron Afflalo has big shoes to fill. But the energy in Denver will still be rocking this season with a full training camp and season with their point guard.
6. Utah Jazz – This same team hasn’t been strong enough to get past the Western elite the past two seasons. While those teams have only gotten stronger, the Jazz have stayed constant with a few players who seem to just kind of play ball whimsically throughout the season. An AK47 trade at before February might jump start this time for a title push.
5. Orlando Magic – Is Vinsanity a replacement for the Euro-Jordan? Hardly. As fun as Carter can be, don’t really see this team succeeding as well as they did with Carter in place of Hedo. But a healthy, stronger Jameer Nelson could really change all of that if he returns with that offensive prowess he had the first half of last season. But they do toughen up with adding Brandon Bass. Poor Gortat…
4. San Antonio Spurs – Might be the winner of the off-season with a trade for Richard Jefferson. Jefferson has always been one of those potential guys but in terrible systems. In San An., he’ll shine. This team is slowly running out of time before their window of competing falls, and they knew that. But now that Bowen is gone, who hits the corner 3s, and who is the defensive stopper on that team? Could be an issue.
3. Cleveland Cavaliers – Around the Shaq trade, these guys made a lot of other moves quietly that just might make the ShaqFest somewhat sustainable. Jamario Moon and Anthony Parker will fit in nicely. But the only way this team gets anywhere is if LBJ develops a consistent jumper OR the rest of his team finds one. But Delonte West’s issues might put this team in a strange funk to start the season.
2. Boston Celtics – These guys are going to come back super strong this season, and for the first time in years, they have a bench. Which is probably a good thing because who knows if KG’s knee will hold up all season. And anyone who thinks Ray Ray and Pierce are going to be quicker and faster this year is fooling themselves. Let’s point out though, that KG guaranteed a ‘ship this season…in June.
1. Los Angeles Lakers – By default. They are the defending champions. And while the Artest vs. Ariza debate will go on all season long, Kobe has been training all summer while Pau took home MVP honors in the Eurobasket tournament. And with Artest stating that the blame falls on him if the Lakers fall apart, we may see a new revolutionized Tru Warier. And that Michael Gelebale signing last week does strengthen the bench a little bit more.
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