1. San Antonio Spurs
The best team in the game. Period.
2. Phoenix Suns
The No. 2 ranking is contingent on the Suns re-signing Joe Johnson. What looked like a lock just a month ago now seems uncertain. New Suns owner Robert Sarver might be getting cold feet about parting ways with max money for JJ's services. Assuming JJ does stay, they'll enter next season with their core intact, including the reigning MVP and The Matrix. The most important piece though? No doubt, it's Amare Stoudemire. The Spurs were helpless against him in the playoffs. Another off-season of adding strength and polishing his game will make him one of the three best players in the L. Count on it.
3. Indiana Pacers
We'll say it right now: the Pacers will represent the Eastern Conference in the Finals this season. J.O. and Jamaal Tinsley are finally healthy. Ron Artest is back and will be on fire the entire season. They finally have another point guard with the signing of Sarunas Jasikevicius. Throw a wild-card rookie Danny Granger into the mix with athletes like Stephen Jackson and Freddy Jones and this team can be scary.
4. Detroit Pistons
How will Flip change the chemistry of this team? They'll still play selflessly and come at you with great D, but this is a team that is getting older. As good as they are and have been, their window is closing.
5. Miami Heat
People will freak when they see that we have the Heat this low. They roll out strong with Flash and Shaq, but we still think their supporting cast is suspect. Damon Jones might still walk this summer and they're in need of someone to take some minutes at the point.
6. Dallas Mavericks
They're a team in transition, but still good enough to best the majority of the League. As Dirk continues to improve, his sidekicks are dropping like flies. First Nash last season and it looks like Michael Finley is going to be cut outright.
7. Cleveland Cavaliers
The only Eastern Conference team to get after it more than the Bucks this summer has been the Cavs. They resigned Z, and added Larry Hughes and Donyell Marshall — each signing designed to fill a specific need. Did we mention that they also have a cat named LeBron? Ridiculous.
8. Houston Rockets
Heading into year two of the T-Mac-Yao Ming combo, we're still waiting for them to truly click. They love each other though, so it's only a matter of time. They desperately needed to get more athletic in the off-season and addressed that issue by stealing Stromile Swift from the Grizzlies.
9. Denver Nuggets
The Nuggets had the misfortune of drawing the Spurs in the first round of the playoffs this year and were dealt with predictably. That's OK though, because George Karl's team wasn't ready for the big time yet. Another year together under Karl and this team is dangerous come the second season.
10. Chicago Bulls
Last year was no fluke. These young cats can ball and will continue to do so. It's on the front office though to keep Tyson Chandler and Eddy Curry, both restricted free agents, in the mix.
11. New Jersey Nets
Vince showed signs of absolute dominance toward the end of the regular season, but then promptly disappeared in the first round of the playoffs. With R.J. back, though Carter and Kidd won't have to shoulder as much of the load. And don't sleep on Nenad Krstic. Kid is on his way to being one of the best centers in the East.
12. Minnesota Timberwolves
The Big Ticket is frustrated. He hates to lose and won't let it happen again. With Flip gone and drama still surrounding the team, the Wolves may need another season to regroup. Don't be surprised if K.G. takes them on his back into the first round.
13. Sacramento Kings
Maybe we're being generous by granting them a place this high. Because once you get past Peja and Bibby, it gets a little dicey. It looks like they're letting their next best scoring option — Cat Mobley — sign with the Clips. Geoff Petri has proven time and again that he's a genius, so we have to think he has something in the works.
14. Memphis Grizzilies
They lost Stromile Swift to the Rockets, but picked up Hakim Warrick in the draft. It seems like the Grizzlies are always in the middle of the pack. The deal to free themselves of Bonzi Wells and get Bobby Jackson and Kirk Snyder in return was a nice move.
15. Boston Celtics
The Celts are the most unpredictable team in this whole lineup. Pierce? Payton? 'Toine? Will they all be back? None of them? Whatever happens, their core crew of young guys — Tony Allen, Delonte West, Al Jefferson and rookie Gerald Green — are all gonna be nasty.
16. Milwaukee Bucks
The Bucks are clearly tired of being mediocre. Check out their moves this off-season: they drafted Andrew Bogut, stole Bobby Simmons from the Clips, hired Terry Stotts to coach and kept Michael Redd in town with a max deal. Throw in the return of T.J. Ford and you basically have a whole new team in Milwaukee.
17. Seattle Supersonics
Nate is gone but admired assistant Weiss is in. Ray & Co. will try to build on the surprising run they had last season. Losing Jerome James might hurt more than anyone is predicting, especially with the possibility of losing Vlad Radmonovic and Reggie Evans to free agency as well. Who will help Nick Collison on the front line?
18. Washington Wizards
We'll give the Wizards front office credit. When they lost Larry Hughes, they didn't panic. Instead they softened the loss by dealing Kwame Brown (who they were going to lose anyway) for Caron Butler and Antonio Daniels. Their front line is still sketchy though ...
19. Portland Trailblazers
Why do they get love? Zach is back and the "Baby Blazers" are in full effect. Travis Outlaw, Martell Webster, Sebastian Telfair — it's like a frat party up in there. But does that equal wins yet?
20. Philadelphia 76ers
Willie Green: six years, $20 million? Kyle Korver: six years, $27 million? Samuel Dalembert: six years, $70 million? If Billy King's signings don't work out, at least he'll be going out in a blaze of glory.
21. Orlando Magic
If Jameer is at the point and Steve Francis plays the two, then Hill plays the three and Howard plays the four. Lottery pick Fran Vasquez can play the five and the Magic could be really good this year. Wait, it can't be that easy right? Know this though: Dwight is going to be a beast this year ... this is a team on the move.
22. Golden Stats Warriors
During the final two or three weeks of the regular season, there wasn't a more entertaining team to watch in the NBA. Baron and J-Rich were running on all cylinders and it was entertaining as hell. For the fun to continue, Baron needs to stay healthy — something he really hasn't ever been able to do.
23. Utah Jazz
Unfortunately for Utah, last season was a wasted year. Remember, before Andrei Kirelinko went down the Jazz were rolling. This season, with the addition of a floor general in Deron Williams, they could be playing sweet music in Salt Lake come playoff time.
24. New York Knicks
The Larry Brown hire is inevitable at this point, but what can he even do with this squad? The first step will be to cut Allan Houston. After that, it's up to L.B. to mend fences with Steph — easier said than done.
25. LA Lakers
They do have Kobe and Lamar Odom, and Phil is back on the sidelines. Gotta be worth something right?
26. LA Clippers
We thought about sticking them at the very bottom because we still can't understand their draft. Yaroslav Korolev ? Really? With Danny Granger, Gerald Green and everyone else still on the board? So frustrating ...
27. Toronto Raptors
GM Rob Babcock is praying that Charlie Villanueva will make him look like a genius right from opening night. A slow start from their lottery pick will have everyone (including us), begging to know why they didn't snag Mr. Do-it-all Danny Granger when they had the chance.
28. Charlotte Bobcats
They're young, they have three former NCAA champions on their roster and Nelly is a part owner. At the very least, they'll get up and down and sell a bunch of tickets.
29. Atlanta Hawks
You know it's bad when you can't give away $70 million. On the bright side, Salim Stoudamire has been absolutely killing in his limited summer league run.
30. New Orleans Hornets
Hornets fans, take solace in the old saying, "You have to go through hell to get to heaven." In case you don't realize it, hell was last season. And maybe the year before too. The Hornets may not win many more games than the 18 they came up with last season, but with Chris Paul in the mix tossing 'oops to J.R. Smith, better days are ahead.
Quelle:
http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/3830350