Typed up before the first spate of games began, this is my pre-season power ranking. This is my arbitrary order of NBA teams based on how good I think they are at this moment (that is, if all 30 teams were to play a full 82 game schedule based on what they could put on the floor at this very moment, how I think they'd order out). Comments and insults are welcome. 1 Los Angeles Clippers They're arguably better and deeper than they were last year, and that's a scary thought for the rest of the league. 2 Cleveland Cavaliers Lebron. Love. Irving. Need any more be said? Well, yeah--they have star power, and they're very deep too. The only question, really, is how quickly they gel. 3 Chicago Bulls Rose appears to be fully recovered, and was playing well at the end of the preseason. Fully healthy, they should be a force. 4 Portland Trail Blazers Yes, I believe that the Kaman acquisition will make THAT big a difference in the early going. 5 Dallas Mavericks Tyson Chandler is going to be a busy, busy man protecting the rim in Dallas. I forsee many 120-115 games in their future. 6 Memphis Grizzlies Vince Carter is going to be a busy, busy man chucking 3's in Memphis. I forsee many 90-85 games in their future 7 New Orleans Pelicans On paper, one of the best starting 5's in the league. Monty Williams' McMillan-esque style may be holding this team back. 8 San Antonio Spurs Call it blasphemy if you want, but I can't give them their rightful place if Splitter and Leonard are out with injuries. This might actually be too high for them right now. 9 Washington Wizards Beal's injury could be a blessing in disguise for the Wiz, if it gives Glen Rice Jr. an opportunity to develop. Even without him, though, this team is very dangerous 10 Houston Rockets Ariza for Parsons wasn't really a massive downgrade, but losing Lin and Asik for nothing really was. This bench is frighteningly thin. 11 Golden State Warriors Kerr knows the game, but he has never coached. Until this team proves that they're upper echelon with him at the helm, I'm not buying it. 12 Toronto Raptors Either Terrence Ross or Big V is going to need to break out for them to significantly improve this year. 13 Miami Heat As long as Bosh, Deng, and Wade are all healthy, this is still a pretty good team. Once (not if) one of them goes down, however--look out. 14 Phoenix Suns I am looking as much forward to the Thomas/Dragic/Bledsoe backcourt as perhaps anything else this season. 15 Charlotte Hornets I REALLY want to like the Hornets. But ESPN has Marvin Williams listed as their starting 4. This atrocity cannot stand! 16 Oklahoma City Thunder It feels so right to put them in the bottom half of the league, even if only for the first rankings. With all these injuries, Westbrook may well take 30 shots a game in November. 17 Detroit Pistons And the race is on to see if Brandon Jennings or Josh Smith is the first conscience-less chucker to precipitate a great Stan Van Gundy soundbite 18 Denver Nuggets Ty Lawson thinking the Nuggets are a top 3 team in the West gives new meaning to the term "Rocky Mountain High" 19 Atlanta Hawks Basically the same team as last season. A team that had to rally to earn the 8 seed. In the East. MAKE SOME CHANGES PEOPLE!! 20 Utah Jazz Jazz fans should be very excited to see what the law firm of Burke, Burks, and Exum can do together. 21 Minnesota Timberwolves I actually think they have a chance to be good, and fun, and soon--but not for a couple months. 22 Orlando Magic If Elfrid Payton can pull a Michael Carter-Williams, then this young squad could get real interesting real quick. 23 Brooklyn Nets I'm pegging this as the slowest starting 5 in the league. Not coincidentally, it's probably the oldest too. 24 New York Knicks A spate of injuries to their starters would actually be the best thing that could happen to this squad. A Larkin/Hardaway/Early lineup will only happen in my imagination. 25 Sacramento Kings I still can't believe that the Gay/Cousins pairing wasn't more dysfunctional last year. But I don't think they've done enough to get out of the conference's bottom 3. 26 Boston Celtics I am in awe of the lack of outside shooting on this roster. Is Olynyk actually their best deep threat? 27 Los Angeles Lakers An entire roster full of mediocrity--what have Laker fans done to deserve this? How much time you got…? 28 Milwaukee Bucks They were already bad last year, and now they have Jason Kidd at the helm. Well at least their fans also have the Packers. 29 Indiana Pacers The only 2 guard on their roster is Rodney Stuckey. And that's probably their fifth biggest problem. 30 Philadelphia 76ers The worst team in the league. Possibly the worst team we've ever seen. Seriously. They might be good enough to win the NIT. Maybe.
