2009-2010 NBA Preview & Initial Power Rankings

NBA Pre-Season Power Rankings & A brief NBA Preview


30. Minnesota – their draft was an absolute disaster. They got the second best player, but the situation is so dire in minnesota, that he chose to stay in spain for the next two years. I do like Johnny Flynn though. Kevin Love's injury isn’t helping matters. Not sure I like the Kurt Rambis hire as his brief tenure as head coach in Los Angeles wasn't what I would consider a great success.

29. Sacramento – talk about completely blowing their pick. The Kings had rubio handed to them on a silver platter and went with Memphis G Tyreke Evans, who is a 6'6 combo guard and as I've mentioned before, is in my mind, a worse version of Kevin Martin. Early reports on Tyreke have been good out of Sacramento, however, with a true PG like Rubio available, why not take him? Even if he stays in Spain for a year or two, it's not a big deal, as Sacramento still has a few years to go before they'll even challenge for the playoffs in the West.

28. Memphis - This may be the most intriguing team. Memphis + Zach Randolph + Allen Iverson + Rudy Gay + OJ Mayo + Chris Wallace = pure comedy. Is there going to be a more contentious locker room than Memphis' this season? Is Zach Randolph going to play dodgeball with Marc Gasol like he used to do in Portland? Is there an over/under on number of fistfights in practice every week? If so, can I take the over?

27. New Jersey/Brooklyn Nets - A new owner could really breathe life into this franchise, which desperately needs to move to Brooklyn. The fact remains, they're still not going to get Lebron, but a move would certainly be beneficial. I think the real wildcard here could be how Chris Douglas Roberts plays in his second season after a fairly solid pre-season. I may have the Nets ranked a little too low here…. And I kind of like their young nucleus of Devin Harris-Courtney Lee-Terrance Williams & CDR….. hmmmm. And Brook Lopez isn't as bad as I thought either.

26. Milwaukee - This is another disaster. Michael Redd is in the last year of his deal and the team is so bad he'll likely opt out leaving $18.3M on the table to play for a contender. Bogut hasn't been a complete bust, but he certainly hasn't been #1 pick productive. They did pick up Compton standout Brandon Jennings in the draft. He won the award for best flat-top at the draft. Compton Stand Up!

25. Golden State - The truly sad thing here is that I love this team. A nucleus of Monta Ellis-Steph Curry-Captain Jack-Anthony Randolph has the potential for pure comedy and tons of points, but like Memphis, there aren't enough shots to go around and I can already tell Monta Ellis is going to hate his life. Captain Jack is asking to be traded. Nellie still isn't sure what year it is. This season has disaster written all over it in Golden State.

24. Indiana - This could be the first ever team to legitimately pull off a white wash. And even better, they don't need any Euros to do it. Travis Diener at PG, Dunleavy at SG, Hansborough at F, Murphy at F and Jeff Foster at C. I know Foster is an Aussie… so if you want to discount him, you can throw Josh McRoberts at C. Boom. That's gold. I just know I feel very sorry for Danny Granger.

23. Charlotte - I really don't understand that whole trading Emeka Okafor for Tyson Chandler thing…. That's really bad. DJ Augustin was suprisingly good when healthy last year & a starting 5 of Augustin, Raja Bell, Gerald Wallace, Boris Diaw, & Chandler isn't awful…. Not much bench depth here either.

22. New York Knicks - Cleared all that payroll. Didn't get either of the two guys they coveted in the draft, but I do really like the Toney Douglas pick. Maybe not a complete disaster with a lineup of Duhon-Douglas-Wilson Chandler-Al Harrington & David Lee w/ a bench of NateRob, Jordan Hill, Darko, Eddy Curry & Danilo Gallinari

21. Toronto - Congrats on overpaying Hedo. That's gonna work out really well for you….. it won't.

20. Philadelphia - Still the same team they had last year. They were legitimately better without Elton Brand. Like the Jrue Holiday draft pick. He's going to be a solid defender in this league.

19. Washington - I love Agent Zero. This team has talent, but they always seem to suffer an unfortunate injury. The Caron-Antawn-Gil trio is intriguing.

18. Detroit - Can someone please explain to me why you would draft Austin Daye when you have Charlie Villanueva, Tayshaun Prince, Jason Maxiel, Old Ben Wallace, Kwame Brown and Chris Wilcox all vying for minutes in the front court? Also, I refuse to rank a team who is going to play Old Ben Wallace & Kwame Brown for over 50 combined minutes a game any higher than this.

17. Los Angeles Clippers - Their season depends on the health of Blake Griffin and Baron Davis' ability to return to his Golden State form. With those two, plus Eric Gordon, Al Thornton & a combo of Marcus Camby & Chris Kaman up front, the Clips should really contend for the 8th seed in the West.

16. Oklahoma City - This is probably way too high for the Thunder, but they are my favorite team in the NBA not named the Los Angeles Lakers & with the Durantula, Russ Westbrook & Jeff Green, the Thunder can score with anyone. It was really unfortunate they didn't land the #1 pick, because if you added Blake Griffin to that nucleus, they'd be good until 2015….

15. Phoenix - What is this team's identity? If they go back to the fun 'n gun, I like their odds at sneaking into the playoffs. Still don't think they should have ever gotten rid of Coach Mike.

14. Miami - Did they do anything in the off-season? Once again, unless Beasley gets out of rehab and decides to play on both ends of the court, this season is going to be up to D-Wade.

13. Atlanta - Another candidate for the "Did absolutely nothing in the offseason" award. Still like their combination of Joe Johnson-Josh Smith-Al Horford. Will be getting a first hand look at them at Staples on Sunday when they travel to LA.

12. Chicago - Think the Ben Gordon departure may be bigger than people think, but I think Derrick Rose has it…. even though "it" isn't the ability to read or take standarized tests. Luckily for him & the Bulls, neither of those are prerequistes to being a star in this league.

11. Houston – Yao. Out. Artest. Gone. Ariza. In. I think a lot of people are overlooking the fact that Ariza had wide-open looks all of last year in LA. Who is going to get him those looks in Houston? However, this team plays with great desire & finds way to win. May take them a while to get going, but I think they reach the playoffs again.

10. Dallas - I greatly enjoy their selection of Rodrique Beaubois. I greatly enjoyed the Dirk Off-Season potential Baby's Mama in jail sideshow. Great Comedy. Dallas is good, but still not truly elite in the West. Don't see them getting past the first round.

9. Orlando - Don't understand the VC move. You traded Courtney Lee, Rafer Alston and essentially Hedo for VC. How did they get better or even stay the same? Can someone explain this to me?

8. Utah - A healthy Deron Williams all season should carry this team & they managed to keep Boozer & Millsap. Well done. Think they'd actually beat 3-seeded Portland in the playoffs if my predictions are accurate… which they won't be.

7. New Orleans - I absolutely positively adore Chris Paul's basketball ability. Trading for Okafor was an underrated moved as well. Well Played Nawlins. The only question is, will this team play for Byron Scott?

6. Denver - A team that didn't do much in the off-season, but again, they didn't have to. They'll take a step back this year just because I think some teams around them had more room for improvement, but neither the Lakers or Spurs want to see them early in the playoffs.

5. Portland - For some reason, I love Portland. Not sure I like the unecessary Aldridge extension, but he's a solid player, especially in tandem w/ Brandon Roy. Like the addition of Patty Mills as well through the draft. He could be a serious PG in this league and provide Roy with a needed break from handling the rock.

4. Cleveland - Don't like the Shaq trade. Still think Lebron is the most talented overall player in the league and think they'll win a ton of games in the East. Don't think they can beat a healthy Boston squad in the playoffs this year though.

3. San Antonio - I was very skepitcal of them giving up Oberto & Kurt Thomas for Richard Jefferson. Then, they turned around & signed McDyess & draft DaJuan Blair, resolidfying their front court depth. Why do I ever doubt the Spurs? A healthy Manu & they may be better than the defending champs.

2. Boston - The big question here is how the team's best young asset responds to his GM publicly shopping him. If I'm Rajon Rondo and Ainge has literally dragged me through the mud after the playoffs I had, I'd be furious. It's really unbelievable how dirty that was. That said, the team improved with the addition of RaSHEED Wallace. If Garnett's knees holdup and Ray Allen does his impersonation of Jesus Shuttlesworth in the playoffs again, the Celtics should be seeing a return trip to the Finals.

1. Los Angeles Lakers - The defending champs get top billing. This is unquestionably the most talented team in the NBA. They have Kobe, Pau Gasol (A solid top 15 player in the league), Lamar, Artest, Bynum, Derek Fisher & a bundle of role players that learned how to win last year & learned how to play in the system. They essentially traded Trevor Ariza for Ron Artest & in a potential match up down the line against either Boston or Cleveland, that is a trade that I would make 10 out of 10 times. The only question is, do the lakers get to that point? Will Artest allow Kobe to control him? Will Kobe allow Artest to be himself? Artest is clearly bat-shit crazy & meets random people on LA from Twitter frequently. This is frightening as a Laker fan… but I've got my popcorn ready… as I think this team can handle this.



Western Conf Standings:
1. Los Angeles Lakers
2. San Antonio
3. Portland
4. Denver
5. New Orleans
6. Utah
7. Dallas
8. Houston
9. Phoenix
10. Oklahoma City

Eastern Conf Standings
1. Boston
2. Cleveland
3. Orlando
4. Chicago
5. Atlanta
6. Miami
7. Detroit
8. Washington
9. Philadelphia
10. Toronto

Awards:

MVP - Lebron, Kobe, D-Wade, Durant, CP3
ROY - Griffin, Griffin, Griffin, Griffin

Playoffs:

Lakers over Houston
San Antonio over Dallas
Utah over Portland
Denver over New Orleans

Boston over Washington
Cleveland over Detroit
Orlando over Miami
Chicago over Atlanta

Lakers over Utah
San Antonio over Denver

Boston over Chicago
Orlando over Cleveland

San Antonio over Lakers
Boston over Orlando

San Antonio over Boston