Power Rankings: Lakers still on top
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It's not easy being you.
You just had to slog through 165 days -- five months and 12 days -- without a fresh helping of ESPN.com's NBA Power Rankings.
We mercifully end the drought on this very good Friday to coincide with the four teams that have exhibition games overseas this season (Chicago, Denver, Indiana and Utah) holding their annual media days and starting practices this weekend. The other 26 teams are scheduled to open training camps either Monday or Tuesday.
The new season starts with the defending champions accorded the standard respect here by returning to the rankings in the top spot. Yet the Los Angeles Lakers also find themselves in a loaded top 5, with each of those teams seemingly capable of winning it all but all five likewise confronted by major unknowns … whether it's Ron Artest's willingness to blend in with the champs in L.A., Vince Carter's ability to replicate Hedo Turkoglu's success in Orlando, Shaquille O'Neal's effectiveness as LeBron James' sidekick, or the health questions that persist about Boston's Kevin Garnett and San Antonio's Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili.
For the purposes of review, allow me to pass along my usual reminder that the season's first batch of rankings measures each team's standing and outlook heading into camp. It is not (repeat, not) a firm predicted order of finish. How last season ended and how good a team is projected to be in 2009-10 are big parts of the equation at this early stage, but how each team fared in its summertime dealings factors in as well, along with the usual dash of totally subjective whim from the committee (of one).
The next batch will appear Oct. 26, on the eve of opening night, after all 30 teams have had a month to show us something. You then can click here every Monday throughout the regular season for our human, thoroughly nonautomated taking of the pulse of the league. You can also rank the teams yourself or click here to comment on the first set.
Editor's note: "Last Week" and "Record" categories are from the final Power Rankings of the 2008-09 regular season.
| 2009-10 Power Rankings: Training Camp | ||||
| RANK | TEAM / RECORD | COMMENTS | ||
| 1 |  | The prospect of Artest's clicking with Kobe, Pau, Lamar, and Bynum? Frightening. But be honest: Wouldn't you rate the champs as far bigger favorites to repeat had they just hung on to the steadier Ariza? | ||
| 2 |  | Since '89, only one team that lost in the Finals won it all the following year: Last season's Lakers. So I respect/applaud Orlando's overhaul/big spending, even though I always saw Hedo as the Magic's linchpin. | ||
| 3 |  | We could wax poetic about Boston's handy free-agent pickups (Sheed and Marquis Daniels) and the Celts' willingness to keep spending to retain Big Baby. But we, like you, need to see KG run on those knees first. | ||
| 4 |  | The team that was humbled by Orlando added four useful players, headlined by a chap named Shaquille O'Neal. But wouldn't it be easier, if they want to make sure LeBron stays, just to move to Akron? | ||
| 5 |  | The Spurs are right there with the Celts. Huge props for taking on Jefferson's contract and adding McDyess, Ratliff and DeJuan Blair … but disclaimers abound 'til we see Timmy and Manu healthy at the finish. | ||
| 6 |  | I'd be less concerned here about the ability of Afflalo to replace Dahntay Jones or the effect of Kleiza's departure on Denver's depth than the mere challenge of living up to last season's everything-went-right script. | ||
| 7 |  | Had the Mavs landed Gortat in restricted free agency, they'd be our clear-cut No. 3 in the West going into camps. We still say they've upgraded sufficiently, starting with Matrix Marion, to slot in right under the Nuggets. | ||
| 8 |  | Question: Why do the Blazers dip slightly after losing none of their main contributors and adding Andre Miller? Answer: Denver still merits higher placement in the West's pecking order, and Dallas had a better summer. | ||
| 9 |  | The Hawks are going to be better. They haven't improved enough to worry the elites, but keeping Bibby, Pachulia and Marvin Williams and adding Jamal Crawford and Joe Smith seals them as No. 4 in the East. | ||
| 10 |  | Will not miss the playoffs again. Not with Alvin Gentry coaching from the start and not if the main protagonists stay healthy. That's as far as we can go, though. Amare's future is the real story of the Suns' season. | ||
| 11 | New Orleans 49-33 | Everyone wants to know whether Chris Paul is happy in New Orleans. Would you be, if you were CP3, given that George Shinn's big move this summer was swapping Chandler for Okafor … before giving Butler away? | ||
| 12 |  | This season can't be as chaotic as the last, when Utah had all those free agents-to-be and countless injuries. But the lingering uncertainty about Boozer's future and the lack of new blood are sufficiently disconcerting. | ||
| 13 |  | With D-Rose no longer a rook, Deng back from injury, and Brad Miller and Salmons in training camp, Chicago will weather Ben Gordon's departure. Especially since the Bulls are a likely 2010 free-agent player, too. | ||
| 14 |  | For sheer volume of transaction activity, Toronto was the NBA's place to be in the summer of 2009. We now resume our regular programming and revert to obsessing about where Bosh will be playing a year from now. | ||
| 15 |  | Even as a longtime Flip Saunders fan, I have to temper my optimism here. The Arenas/Butler/Jamison core had a limited ceiling even at its youthful and healthy best. It's a playoff team again, but that's as far as we go. | ||
| 16 |  | With all significant biz on hold until next summer, when Miami prays it can re-sign D-Wade, just matching last season's trip to the playoffs puts a big onus on Beasley and on O'Neal's knees. Hence the rampant skepticism. | ||
| 17 |  | The Sixers have a decent young core no one talks about (fronted by Thaddeus Young and Lou Williams) and found a shooter in Kapono, but let's face it: Eddie Jordan's first season in Philly hinges on Brand's return. | ||
| 18 |  | Ben Wallace is back in Motown, but there isn't much more to remind you of the Dee-troit Basketball we've come to expect this century … unless Gordon and Villanueva do more damage than anyone expects. | ||
| 19 | Charlotte 35-47 | Can Larry Brown grind out six or so more wins and finally steer the Bobs into the playoffs with a couple of notable newcomers (Chandler and Flip Murray) but still no franchise player? It's possible, but not probable. | ||
| 20 |  | Griffin's injury scare can't change the facts. Blake G. in, Zach Randolph out and Rasual Butler for free? That, folks, is a sweet summer that (almost) makes you dream of a Lakers vs. Clippers first-round showdown. | ||
| 21 |  | Am I allowed to keep saying, even though I get their thinking, that I wish the Thunder had drafted Rubio? What about saying, high as I am on OKC's future like everyone else, that playoff talk is still a tad premature? | ||
| 22 |  | The Rockets have been so scrappy without Yao or T-Mac (or both) that you hesitate to dismiss them in the race for No. 8. Dismissing them is not nearly as foolish (on both sides) as the Ariza-Lakers divorce, but risky. | ||
| 23 |  | Monta, Curry, Captain Jack, A-Randolph and Biedrins form a must-watch fivesome. Not ready to pick them for the playoffs or anything, but the Dubs have depth, too. They could be dangerous … not just to themselves. | ||
| 24 |  | Granger sees the Pacers as a ''top-six team'' in the East. Don't think Danny and I are looking at the same conference, unless Dunleavy Jr. comes all the way back and Hibbert and Hansbrough are way ahead of schedule. | ||
| 25 | New Jersey 34-48 | Nets fans will live with every single bad "Nyets" joke if their prospective Russian owner has anywhere near the effect Roman Abramovich had at Chelsea. Don't forget, though, that the NBA does have a salary cap. | ||
| 26 |  | As if the Knicks' wait for July 2010 wasn't excruciating enough, it wasn't until this week's signings of D-Lee and Nate Rob that they got something out of this summer. And they still have to trade Curry or Jeffries. | ||
| 27 |  | There wasn't a newsier team in the offseason than the Wolves. That obviously won't be the case once the season starts, but at least they've got some personality again with Kahn, Rambis, Big Al and K-Love. | ||
| 28 |  | Have we ever been able to call the Grizz "riveting" in this space? Can't see them winning 30 games, but I can tell you this: I'll be watching them. Gay, Mayo, Thabeet and Gasol + Iverson and Randolph = irresistible. | ||
| 29 |  | Luxury-tax issues led to the departures of RJ, Villanueva and Sessions. Only reasons to tune in now: Redd and Bogut are on the comeback trail and Brandon Jennings' NBA journey starts out under Skiles. | ||
| 30 |  | The league's consensus worst team didn't draft our beloved Rubio. But the Kings did draft our beloved Casspi, which leads to this teaser: Will there be more wins or Omri mentions in 24 weeks of regular-season rankings? | ||
