Pistons begin where they left off: No. 1

Updated: October 10, 2005, 3:51 PM ET

Week:

Team:

They're back! Not just the players. Marc Stein's Power Rankings, too.

With teams ending their summer vacations Monday, ESPN.com's NBA Power Rankings make their long-awaited return with this Training Camp Edition, rating every team from 1 through 30.

For the purposes of review, this initial set of rankings serves as a barometer of each team's standing heading into camp, based on Stein's special formula.

That formula? It gauges how good a team is along with how good their summer was ... with a dash of totally subjective whim factored in.

The next set of rankings will appear on Monday, Nov. 1 on the eve of Opening Night, after giving all 30 teams a month to impress us. The rankings will then continue every Monday through the regular season, with a weekly column running with it once the games start counting. Click here to comment on the first batch of rankings.

Editor's note: Last Week and Record categories are from the final Power Rankings of the 2003-04 season.

2004-05 Power Rankings: Training Camp
RANK	TEAM / RECORD	COMMENTS
1	Detroit 54-28	You know by now the treatment defending champs get here. Especially when their roster looks better, with Dice and Delfino, than it did in June.
2	San Antonio 57-25	Pop says he 'hated' the Shaq trade because beating the three-peaters was the ultimate challenge. The bet here is he'll get over it once these Spurs start rolling.
3	Minnesota 58-24	No one doubts them in the playoffs any more. The doubts of note are attached to Cassell's hip, because Sam I Am absolutely has to be healthy for Minny to stay up here.
4	Miami 42-40	The committee has always found South Beach to be a bit overrated. But that was before it became Shaq-apulco.
5	Indiana 61-21	Yup. That really is three teams from the East in the top five. And, yes, Pacer People: Your arguably underrated squad has to start out third after what Detroit and Miami did.
6	Denver 43-39	It's a big jump up here, true, but Nuggets' frontcourt rotation really is one of the biggest and best. K-Mart, Camby, Nene . . . before you even get to Melo? Solid.
7	Houston 45-37	As with Denver, some will say this is too steep a climb, especially since Rockets have PG issues. But we like the T-Mac move that much, along with the Juwan throw-in.
8	Sacramento 55-27	Maybe no team is harder to assess at this stage. Kings still have C-Webb, Peja, Bibby, Bobby Jax and Brad Miller . . . but start anew with more tension and doubt than they've seen in years.
9	Utah 42-40	Joining Jerry Sloan's overachieving kids this week: Carlos Boozer, Mehmet Okur and the rehabbed Matt Harpring. Three boosts for a team no one liked playing before.
10	Dallas 52-30	There's still too much there to drop Dallas out of the top 10 sans Nash. That said, looks like Mavs still have too many scorers and not enough passers, even if they do improve on D.
11	Phoenix 29-53	Yet Nash is rated highly here, which is why Suns have risen so dramatically. The glut of swingmen, mind you, could be a trouble spot unless one of them (Marion most likely) is moved.
12	Memphis 50-32	Hubie's back and Grizz might be even deeper than they were, but the surprise factor is gone. Memphis won't sneak up on anyone any more, which makes that next step even tougher.
13	Los Angeles 56-26	It's only out of respect for Kobe's prodigious talents and Rudy T's ability to connect with stars that LA is this high. Seriously: LA's smallish roster is no lock for a playoff spot.
14	Portland 41-41	West is so ridiculously deep that Portland is hardly mentioned anywhere as a playoff contender, even after landing Van Exel to join Zach, Theo and Reef.
15	Golden State 37-45	This really isn't a top-15 team, but Warriors had a better summer than most clubs in this vicinity, just by hiring Mully and empowering him to start changing the culture up there.
16	Milwaukee 41-41	Milwaukee can handle not being able to sneak up on folks now. The bigger problem is replacing the guard play of T.J. Ford, a quietly huge factor in last season's breakout.
17	Cleveland 35-47	You would have expected a steeper PR drop after Boozergate, but that's the state of the East outside of Detroit-Miami-Indiana. With LBJ, a playoff spot is forthcoming even without Booze.
18	Boston 36-46	We might be shortchanging Boston. Doc Rivers has lots to do, but the volatility (GP/Ricky Ricky) is talented, and joined by Paul Pierce and a good frontline by East standards (Blount/Raef).
19	New Jersey 47-35	Like its opponents in the '02 Finals, Jersey lost a lot of its soul since the spring. And with Kidd unlikely to rush back from knee surgery, the first six weeks could empty out what's left at the Meadowlands.
20	New Orleans 41-41	They have moved to the West. They have a franchise player (Baron) who wants to relocate. They have lost Mash for the season already. Summers don't get much worse.
21	New York 39-43	Instead of capitalizing on NJ's disintegration, look for NY to go the other way. That means a Lenny Watch, Steph passing sparingly and the usual logjam of undersized PFs.
22	Orlando 21-61	The names sound somewhat appealing: Stevie Franchise, Cuttino, Hedo, Dwight Howard . . . maybe even a Grant Hill sighting. Of course, they're just names 'til we see some games.
23	Philadelphia 33-49	With Iverson, Dalembert and Coach Obie, you have to give Philly a chance to grab the eighth spot. But that's really all we can give.
24	Atlanta 28-54	In talent and ticket-selling terms, Atlanta isn't any better off than it was. But just enough happened in the offseason ('Toine, Harrington, Woodson) to make us curious, if no one else.
25	Chicago 23-59	Kirk Hinrich is worth watching, and so is Andres Nocioni, but we're not going to be gullible again. Baby Bulls can expect little to zero slack from the committee.
26	Toronto 33-49	Vince is another guy who has exhausted our patience, which explains why a team that added two committee favorites -- new coach Sam Mitchell and Cal State Fullerton draftee Pape Sow -- is lower than it probably should be.
27	Washington 25-57	Antawn Jamison will help, but only so much. It's tough to do well in the Power Rankings when you look so thin at the power positions.
28	Los Angeles 28-54	Last time Lakers cratered, after Magic Johnson's HIV-forced retirement, LA actually became a Clips town ever-so-briefly. Don't expect that miracle again.
29	Seattle 37-45	Only two teams in the West have no shot at the playoffs, and this is No. 1 on that list. The return of Nick Collison will help, but it was another way-too-quiet summer in Seattle.
30	Charlotte 0-0	Emeka Okafor is a nice kid and a decent prospect . . . but that's probably the most positive thing we'll be able to say about these guys for a while.