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ESPN NBA POWER RANKINGS TOP 5

2K views 48 replies 24 participants last post by  NOFX22 
#1 ·
The Power Rankings are back! Does this Top 5 look right to you?

1.) Miami Heat 2.) LA Lakers 3.) Oklahoma City Thunder 4.) San Antonio Spurs 5.) Los Angeles Clippers
 
#8 ·
vis Clipper: why glaring?

Paul/Beldsoe
Billups/Crawford
Butler/Hill
Griffin/Odom
Jordan/Hollins/Turiaf

they quietly added some nice bench pieces (Crawford/Hill) and assuming (big assumption I know) guys like Billups and Butler can stay healthy and Griffin can continue to develop they should be pretty tough (and that's not counting Odom bouncing back from his mental break down)

of course they are the clippers and it could all blow up by december, Vinny could get fired and Blake and Paul could be working on departure plans so who knows? but I dont think it's shocking or all that glaring on paper
 
#9 ·
1 Miami 46-20

How can they not start out peering down at 29 other teams? Even if the Heat do launch slowly with Wade and Ray Ray healing, it's not just our rule about defending champions that matters. Also: Mr. James returns as undisputed King of his sport for the first time ever.

2 Los Angeles 41-25

Maybe you can't win anything in the summertime. What you can do, though, is leapfrog everyone else in Power Rankdom apart from the defending champs when you trade for Dwight and Nash without surrendering Pau, which still hasn't fully sunk in even after writing that sentence dozens of times.

3 Oklahoma City 47-19

Am I, like so many out there, overlooking the fact that the Lakers still have lots of chemistry wrinkles to work out and health questions to answer? Guilty. Thing is, OKC convenes for camp amid plenty of its own uncertainty thanks to Harden's contract situation, Perk's health and that Finals flameout.

4 San Antonio 50-16

Timmy, Manu and Tony don't get any easier to read with age. Who could have predicted the 20 games in a row they won or the four straight Ls to OKC after that brush with invincibility? Want to write the Spurs off after a summer of precious little change? Go for it. We'll pass.

5 Los Angeles 40-26

Last season of bliss before CP3 leaves Blake and Clipperland behind? Or the start of something truly special that makes L.A. feel like Manchester with two true powerhouse teams in the same neighborhood? Like it or not, Staples Center is the NBA's two-team epicenter for juicy storylines. For now.

6 Boston 39-27

Whether or not you agree with Rondo's claim that the Celts are still on the short list of five teams that can win it all, there's no denying they'll have a bench this time with JET Terry, Courtney Lee, Jeff Green and Darko arriving to succeed the departed Ray Allen and Stiemsma.

7 Philadelphia 35-31

Find myself drawn to the Sixers as much as anyone in the East chasing Miami. Time will tell if I'm assuming too much about Bynum's impact, but Philly automatically skyrockets here for now in the wake of a trade that landed an undeniable franchise center and got Dwight out of the East. 8 Indiana 42-24

Indy's splashiest acquisition was Donnie Walsh. Nothing wrong with that -- not when the Pacers also re-signed Hibbert and George Hill -- but that means Frank Vogel is clearly dependent on improvement from within to maintain their spot in the East's elite. Not so simple.

9 Denver 38-28

The Nuggets, with Iguodala, are right there with Memphis and Dallas in the West's steel-cage battle for the bottom four playoff seeds. Yet you can't shake the suspicion that, even if Iggy and JaVale McGee have big years, they'll find out first-hand what sort of monster they helped L.A. assemble.

10 Dallas 36-30

After missing out on D-Will, Dallas never dreamed it could offer only one-year deals to the rest of the free-agent pack and still come away with Mayo, Kaman, Brand and Collison. The problem? The West is suddenly super deep again. And now Dallas has to score in Free Agency 2013.

11 Memphis 41-25

Committee (of one) spies say Z-Bo looks far sharper coming into this season than he did at any point last season, but it won't mean much unless A) Z-Bo and Rudy Gay finally click, B) Gay is dealt for a better fit and C) Memphis eventually puts some shooters around Z-Bo and Marc Gasol.

12 Brooklyn 22-44

OK, OK: They didn't get Dwight. But the Nets did just enough, by trading for Joe Johnson and signing a slew of others, to convince D-Will to stay, ship a watchable team to their gleaming new Brooklyn palace and give themselves a shot at finishing higher than the Knicks. It's a start.

13 New York 36-30

Let's see. Let's see if J-Kidd, at 39, can combine with Ray Felton (and Hakeem Olajuwon's tutorials) to help Melo and Amare snap together like Legos at last and make people forget that James Dolan let J-Lin go out of what largely appears to be spite. Maximum points for ambition.

14 Minnesota 26-40

When was the last time the Wolves were this interesting? Probably 2003-04 when they went to the West finals before trading away Sam (I Am) Cassell. We're still not quite sure how soon Rubio will be back from knee surgery, but K-Love and his overhauled supporting cast are must-see regardless.

15 Chicago 50-16

If you think D-Rose was emotional at that adidas press conference chronicling his diligent rehab, wait until you see what happens around New Year's when he and Coach Thibs start planning Rose's comeback from that ACL tear ... and cautious Bulls management tells them it's best to sit tight.

16 Utah 36-30

In the early days of the Pop era, Utah was the franchise San Antonio always tried to emulate. Now the Jazz have imported Dennis Lindsey from the Spurs' front-office mafia to help figure out who on the frontline stays or goes (Jefferson? Millsap?) to make way for Favors and Kanter.

17 Golden State 23-43

New management has overhauled so much, but the expectation that something (most likely health) will go awry lives on. So let's see if the Dubs -- deepest roster since 2007's We Believe squad --with Bogut, Curry and D-Lee ready to the start the season -- can hush the doomsayers for once.

18 Atlanta 40-26

It won't show up in the standings right away, but the Hawks were one of the unquestioned offseason winners on this scorecard when Danny Ferry jettisoned Joe Johnson (and more). I'd rather start over, as Atlanta will now do, than pointlessly keep banging my head on a second-round ceiling.

19 Milwaukee 31-35

En route to the Hall of Fame, reflecting on the monster trade two of his old teams swung, Don Nelson said: "Something you just never do in the NBA, you don't trade a 6-3 player for a talented 7-footer." Put Nellie down, then, in the camp saying Milwaukee lost the Bogut-for-Monta swap.

20 New Orleans 21-45

Whispers around the league persist that ROY favorite Anthony Davis and Co. can make a run at the No. 8 spot out West. I simply prefer to echo what we so often said about Kyrie's Cavs last season: Hope has been restored here, post-CP3, far faster than anyone imagined.

21 Portland 28-38

Can Damian Lillard trump Unibrow Davis and actually win the ROY race? Hard to fathom. Will Lillard be sufficiently dazzling to buy new coach Terry Stotts some time and placate Blazermaniacs as their heroes try to rebuild around Aldridge, Batum and the flashy new PG? Quite conceivable.

22 Washington 20-46

Lottery teams aren't supposed to be very intriguing, but the Wiz do make you wonder: Are we sleeping on these guys? Depends on what they get from Wall and his new rookie sidekick Beal and what sort of impact Nene and Okafor can still make. Buy in at your own risk.

23 Toronto 23-43

There's quiet optimism north of the border that the Raps can scrap for the East's No. 8 spot. I'll just stop at saying that Valanciunas' unhappy Olympics (and likely slow NBA start) won't discourage me at all about his promise. European coaches are prone to take it slow with young guys.

24 Phoenix 33-33

Did the Suns hang onto Steve Nash too long? Definitely. Did they spin out of Nash's emotional defection to the hated Lakers about as well as they possibly could by signing All-Lefty Team aspirant Dragic and snagging Scola on an amnesty waiver claim? This desert lover hopes so.

25 Detroit 25-41

It's an if. A rather big if, actually. But the idea that draft gamble Andre Drummond can eventually form a legit front-line tandem with Greg Monroe -- with salary-cap space looming next summer --adds up to the biggest glimmer of hope Pistons fans have seen for a half-decade.

26 Houston 34-32

Better to be stockpiling trade assets and scheming from lottery land to finally pull off a blockbuster than chase a playoff spot. The Rockets, sporting J-Lin and Kev Martin and not much else these days after Orlando spurned all their Dwight proposals, are about to seriously test that theory.

27 Orlando 37-29

Jacque Vaughn's older brother played at Cal State Fullerton, so it'll come as little surprise that the committee (of one) not-so-secretly roots for the Magic's surprise rookie coach. But let's be clear here. A rough season awaits after they got none of the three best players in the Dwight deal.

28 Cleveland 21-45

The Cavs, with five or six first- and second-year players in their rotation, will ask their fans for more patience. And you know what? With Varejao coming back and Kyrie poised to serve up more thrills, they'll undoubtedly get it whether or not Waiters dazzles or stumbles early.

29 Sacramento 22-44

The uncertain futures of Tyreke, Jimmer and NBA basketball itself in Sactown command our focus heading into the season. Factor in all the attention Cousins generates, with Thomas Robinson on the scene now as well, and methinks you can expect more Kings chatter nationally than normal.

30 Charlotte 7-59

How many games will the seven-win Cats win this season? Do they dare dream of rising to the lofty rankings heights of No. 29 or (gasp) No. 28? Will His Airness ever grant an extended interview to explain his game plan? Answers forthcoming in this space every Monday during the regular season.
 
#28 ·
F a copyright!
 
#10 ·
Hornets at 20 is too high. Detroit at 25 is too low.
 
#30 ·
Trolling? im pretty sure putting a 2nd round exit team as #2 and the team that won the West as #3 is trolling. Nash and Dwight have yet to prove anything at all.
This is a completely different team. Anyone who isn't a moron would know that. And Nash/Howard aren't the only changes that this team has.
 
#20 ·
Do not agree with Boston and Philly over Indiana.

I'm getting pretty tired of hearing how much Bynum will improve them without hearing any mention at all at the loss of Iggy.


This season will prove what I told Lakers fans for years. Bynum is not a franchise guy. But if hes ever going to trick anyone into thinking he is, this big contract year will be the year.
 
#25 ·
Is power rankings for 'ship aspirations or end of season rankings. If the bulls can sneak in at 7 or higher I would have them top 5 to win the 'ship.

Grizz should be higher. Caves are too low. Bobcats are spot on.
 
#26 ·
2 things:

1) R-Star has officially put himself out there. I will definitely bust this thread out if Bynum has a couple of MVP-caliber season.

2) Power rankings have nothing to do with championships. They are merely a gauge of who the best teams are in a single snapshot of time.
 
#33 ·
The Clips are very very soft up front.Odom doesn't bang, neither does Jordan.Turiaf can't stay healthy and he isn't very tall. Reggie Evans basically won a game in Memphis in the playoffs, they will miss him and K-Mart more than they realize.

Portland is way underrated but, then they are 3,000 miles from NYC so they don't count.

If Charlotte is #30 then NO is #29
 
#35 ·
1 Miami 0-0 --

Last Week: 1

The last team from the Leastern Conference to repeat as champs? Michael Jordan's 1996-98 three-peaters. Why dredge up the Leastern Conference stuff so soon? Because there's realistically only one team in the East that can keep Miami out of the Finals: Boston.

2 San Antonio 0-0 2 Last Week: 4

Came into the season thinking that the ceiling for the Spurs would likely be holding off the West's chasing pack headed by Denver and Memphis rather than playing at the Thunder/Lakers level. Now? OKC and L.A. look sufficiently vulnerable to get us rethinking.

3 Los Angeles 0-0 1 Last Week: 2

Even with the injury uncertainty suddenly surrounding Kobe, you'd have to say that we just witnessed the finest 0-8 preseason in NBA history, with Dwight Howard's recovery ahead of schedule and OKC having just broken up the reigning Western Conference champs.

4 Boston 0-0 2 Last Week: 6

Open to suggestions on who else you think we should tack onto the short list of teams capable of actually beating the Heat and winning the East. For the Celts to even be on that list -- though they got undeniably deeper over the summer -- everything has to go right.

5 Oklahoma City 0-0 2 Last Week: 3

The Thunder certainly got a lot back for Harden, but something they surrendered in Saturday night's blockbuster trade that wasn't mentioned in the press release is a chunk of chemistry/continuity edge they had over L.A. Which is why OKC just dipped two spots.

6 Los Angeles 0-0 1 Last Week: 5

NBA's deepest team? Too deep for their own good? Does everyone know I bring up the following -- last season's .606 winning percentage eclipsed Buffalo's .598 mark in '74-75 for the franchise record -- only because I'm always looking to sneak in a Braves mention?

7 Denver 0-0 2 Last Week: 9

Computer simulations from ESPN Stats & Info contend that OKC's chances of winning the Northwest have dipped from 57.1 percent to 47.1 percent sans Harden. Sounds like another way of saying that the en vogue Nuggets just got 10 percent likelier to win the division.

8 Indiana 0-0 --

Last Week: 8

The Pacers survived last season's woeful bench production with the considerable durability of their starters. So it has to unsettle our friends in the land of St. Elmo's to hear Danny Granger come out over the weekend admitting that his left knee is "testing me."

9 Memphis 0-0 2 Last Week: 11

Feeling fairly sure that Rudy Gay and Zach Randolph will start more games together this season than the eight they started together last season. Not going to promise much more than that, though. Need to learn more about incoming ownership and their Rudy plans.

10 Utah 0-0 6 Last Week: 16

Enes Kanter's big preseason presumably makes the eventual trade of Al Jefferson or Paul Millsap for a top guard even more of an eventuality. Safer assumption: October health setbacks suffered by Dirk and K-Love have given Utah's playoff hopes an early boost.

11 Brooklyn 0-0 1 Last Week: 12

The building cost a cool $1 billion. No one in the starting lineup makes less than Gerald Wallace's $9.7 million. The Nets couldn't be more ready to launch their new, opulent life in Brooklyn against the Amare-less Knicks ... except for the worrisome news about D-Will's ankle.

12 Chicago 0-0 3 Last Week: 15

Respect for Coach Thibs is such that A) it's a virtual consensus that the D-Rose-less Bulls will defend too stoutly to fall far off the playoff pace and B) Chicago still ranks as an elite team with Vegas bookmakers even when they know Rose will miss at least half the season.

13 Atlanta 0-0 5 Last Week: 18

Not quite ready to co-sign on the notion that the Hawks are still a top-five team in the East. But still a playoff team? In this conference? Still a top-eight team, yes, while in the midst of stockpiling cap space for next summer. (Unless trades present themselves sooner.)

14 Philadelphia 0-0 7 Last Week: 7

The fact we've scarcely seen a dribble out of the ailing Bynum, after all the September hoopla about his arrival in this cyberspace, pretty much assures that the 11-year-old committee (of one) will be subjected to Power Rankings jinx taunts for the 11th straight season.

15 New York 0-0 2 Last Week: 13

The question is asked on a near-daily basis: Who's the best basketball team in New York? The Knicks' problem, even if they ultimately win that debate, is that trumping the Nets might well be the highest honor that the league's oldest team can achieve this season.

16 Dallas 0-0 6 Last Week: 10

The Mavs are the Sixers of the West. As in: Dallas, like Philly, takes a serious rankings tumble before a single game that counts thanks largely to a knee problem (Dirk Nowitzki's) that has some locals wondering if a run of 12 straight playoff trips is already in peril.

17 Minnesota 0-0 3 Last Week: 14

Surely everyone in Sota understands now why the committee has sworn off knuckle push-ups (or push-ups of any kind). Hopefully the playoffs aren't out of reach for the should-be-very-watchable Wolves if Love and Rubio are both back in the lineup by New Year's.

18 Milwaukee 0-0 1 Last Week: 19

Ninth in the conference for two successive seasons, Milwaukee finds itself almost universally regarded as a bubble team in the East again. It's the sort of unwanted consistency that makes this a make-or-break season for not only Skiles but B-Jennings and Monta, too.

19 Golden State 0-0 2 Last Week: 17

Our friends at Bovada.lv list the over/under on games played this season at 60.5 for Steph Curry and 52.5 for Andrew Bogut. The Dubs obviously have to see the over in both cases -- well over -- if they hope to see the playoffs for just the second time in 19 seasons.

20 Portland 0-0 1 Last Week: 21

The league boasts only three new coaches: Charlotte's Mike Dunlap, Orlando's Jacque Vaughn and Terry Stotts here. You can safely assume Stotts, armed with an All-Star forward (Aldridge) and a dynamic rookie (Lillard), enjoys the closest thing to a decent Year 1.

21 Houston 0-0 5 Last Week: 26

Harden's arrival takes pressure off of Jeremy Lin in the midst of Lin's camp/knee woes. Lin's presence should eventually absorb some of the brighter spotlight all over Harden now. The Rockets still need a lot more, but those two -- with Asik -- form a core to start with. At last.

22 Toronto 0-0 1 Last Week: 23

Everyone obviously wants to start well, but it's particularly critical for Toronto if it has any hope of living up to all the talk about how a run at No. 8 in the East is within reach. Let's see first how the young Raps cope with playing 15 of their first 22 games on the road.

23 New Orleans 0-0 3 Last Week: 20

As good as Damian Lillard has looked during the preseason, Anthony Davis still starts the real thing as the ROY favorite ... here and in most precincts. The Hornets, though, really are too young for folks to keep whispering about an outside shot at No. 8. Not feasible.

24 Phoenix 0-0 --

Last Week: 24

Formerly the league's great entertainers when a certain S. Nash was at the controls, these Suns will have to be scrappy to be competitive. Maybe they can draw motivation from the fact so few folks on the outside think they can rise, post-Nash, out of the 20s.

25 Detroit 0-0 --

Last Week: 25

Bold prediction: Detroit will not start 4-20 again. Whether the Greg Monroe-led Pistons can win more than 30 games for the first time since 2008-09 remains to be seen, but there's some cautious optimism bubbling in Motown after Andre Drummond's promising preseason.

26 Sacramento 0-0 3 Last Week: 29

Brace yourselves for countless jokes about the newly named (but sadly outdated) Sleep Train Arena. As well as the usual ups and downs from a (really) young team still unclear where the franchise will be long-term, while sporting a roster of ill-fitting, unpolished parts.

27 Washington 0-0 5 Last Week: 22

The early wave of support for the Wiz as a playoff dark horse took a hit with the news that John Wall (knee) is out until the end of November. Nene (foot) and Kevin Seraphin (calf) will be back sooner, but it's obviously Wall next to rook Bradley Beal that we want to see.

28 Cleveland 0-0 --

Last Week: 28

Those 10 Cavs with two seasons or less of NBA experience are in for a testing start, to say the least. After a shaky preseason for rookie Dion Waiters, and Kyrie Irving's trip to the dentist to remove four wisdom teeth, Cleveland soon leaves town for a six-game trip.

29 Orlando 0-0 2 Last Week: 27

Did you see Professor Hollinger's tweet late Saturday night about how the Thunder arguably got more for Harden than the Magic got for Dwight? The season you're about to watch will confirm that Professor Hollinger was being very charitable with that arguably.

30 Charlotte 0-0 --

Last Week: 30

Going to show some (rare) maturity and not take it out on the Bobcats that my beloved Phillips Seafood was inexplicably out of cream of crab soup when the committee connected through the Charlotte airport last week. Winning will be hard enough as is.
 
#41 ·
8 Indiana 0-0 --

Last Week: 8

The Pacers survived last season's woeful bench production with the considerable durability of their starters. So it has to unsettle our friends in the land of St. Elmo's to hear Danny Granger come out over the weekend admitting that his left knee is "testing me."
The rank is ok, but I'm not really sure if I agree with the analysis. Indy's bench will be considerably more productive this season and Granger's knee giving him issues is not something new. Granger not taking as many shots and getting less playing time isn't such a bad thing. I'm more worried about George Hill's injury.
 
#39 ·
I will go on record as saying I think the Spurs will represent the Western Conference in the NBA Finals this season.
 
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