ESPN Power Rankings

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/powerranking?season=2006&week=-1

RANK (LAST WK) TEAM REC. COMMENT

1 (3) Spurs 59-23 The committee loves it when someone out there makes it
this easy. And it doesn't get much easier than putting the reigning champs
up here in the top slot after they added Finley, Van Exel and Oberto at
bargain prices.

2 (5) Pistons 54-28 You could argue that Larry Brown's departure should
bring a steeper drop. Then you might recall we're talking about defiant
Detroit, which rallies around such causes.

3 (1) Suns 62-20 People seem to forget that these guys beat Dallas in the
second round without Joe Johnson and with no bench. Now they have a bench (a
good one) and still have two MVP candidates (Nash and Amare), so hold off on
the crisis talk.

4 (15) Pacers 44-38 Ron-Ron reinstated. J. O'Neal healed. Uncle Reg retired
.... but replaced by our man Saras Jasikevicius. In other words, you
shouldn't be surprised to see that Indy has been bumped back up among the
league's elite.

5 (6) Heat 59-23 If all the new, uh, personalities click, Riles wins
Executive of the Year and we eat crow. Stan VG, meanwhile, wins Coach of the
Year if he can last the whole season.

6 (7) Rockets 51-31 Yao had his first-ever summer of significant rest and
now has the athletic frontcourt sidekick (Swift) he needed as much as a
healthy break. Rockets thus move to the brink of the elite, in spite of the
Sura situation.

7 (4) Nuggets 49-33 Furious George can't expect to go 32-8 in every 40
games with Denver, as seen in his first act, but Nuggets don't strike us as
fluke material. Especially not if K-Mart rebounds from his knee woes and
Camby stays healthy.

8 (2) Mavericks 58-24 With their Big Three down to a Big One, Mavs weren't
an automatic top-10 selection. But they're here out of respect for Nowitzki,
since he somehow led essentially the same team to a whopping 58 wins last
season.

9 (20) Cavaliers 42-40 There are several newcomers to track -- Hughes,
Donyell, D-Jones and Ferry -- but let's face it: LBJ and his quest to
finally make the playoffs remain the main focus.

10 (12) Kings 50-32 The additions of Bonzi and Reef look like trademark
Petrie scores. But the moves slam home the idea that Kings, as we knew them,
are a memory.

11 (11) Grizzlies 45-37 Grizz might indeed be at risk for slipping out of
the West's top eight, as stated in Wednesday's chat. Then again, they might
not slip at all after dumping all the unhappy souls (Bonzi, J-Will, Swift
and Posey) for the good of team chemistry.

12 (13) Nets 42-40 They're perhaps deeper than they've ever been in the
J-Kidd Era, but so is the top of the East. So Nets will have to settle for
battling Cavs for the No. 4 seed.

13 (17) Warriors 34-48 Everyone seems to be picking Warriors to end their
decade-long playoff drought at last. Of course, that only increases the
pressure on GS to finally do so.

14 (16) Wizards 45-37 Wiz won't be as dynamic as they were with Hughes, but
they're deeper. Which is enough to retain their playoff ticket in the East.

15 (23) Bucks 30-52 Larry Harris had a summer to rival that of any GM in
the league. All the moves should ease the burden on Bogut and take Bucks
back to the playoffs.

16 (25) Lakers 34-48 Don't ask for a long explanation, because you're not
going to glean one from looking at Kobe's roster. Basically our respect for
the Zenmeister is such that we expect LA to mount a push for the No. 8 seed.
Somehow.

17 (24) Knicks 33-49 The bottom of the East's playoff ladder is more
wide-open than the bottom of the West's ... meaning that Larry looks to have
a much better chance than Phil of turning his turnoff roster into a No. 8
seed.

18 (8) SuperSonics 52-30 Asked in a chat to name West playoff teams at risk
for a fall out of the top eight, we omitted Seattle and what's left of a
Cinderella squad that lost some key pieces (and coaches). It's preseason for
the committee, too.

19 (19) Timberwolves 44-38 Word is KG has bulked up, but his readiness was
never a worry. The concern is KG's new supporting cast, which is more
coachable but doesn't exactly scream "playoffs."

20 (9) Bulls 47-35 Bulls were a big-time surprise in '04-05. It'll be a
bigger surprise if they can top that run in '05-06, with the surprise factor
gone and the Curry cloud to contend with.

21 (10) Celtics 45-37 Maybe Celts should be higher. But betting folk will
favor a Pierce trade between now and February over the notion that Ainge's
toddlers will be playoff-ready come April.

22 (14) 76ers 43-39 This is one of the few places where the Webber-Iverson
partnership still gets a chance. Yet we don't deny that the grace period is
running out.

23 (27) Jazz 26-56 Instinct says a Jerry Sloan team can't have another
season like the last one down here in rankings purgatory. Then again,
Sloan's Jazz have never had a season like that one, so who knows how they'll
respond?

24 (22) Magic 36-46 Even with a (relatively) healthy Grant Hill and a
reasonable Amare facsimile (Dwight Howard), Magic still look like a playoff
maybe. It all depends which Stevie Franchise they get, and we're skeptical.

25 (18) Clippers 37-45 On paper, Clips look as though they have the
starters to beat the Lakers to the Staples Center title again. It all
depends which Cassell they get, and we're skeptical.

26 (26) Trail Blazers 27-55 Seattle undoubtedly will miss Mr. Sonic, but
McMillan is bound to pine for the fairy-tale feel of last season after a
couple of months nursing Portland's kiddie corps.

27 (30) Hawks 13-69 Go ahead. Admit it. The whole Joe Johnson-Steve Belkin
saga will tempt you to follow the Hawks more closely than you ever have.

28 (28) Bobcats 18-64 Bobcats far exceeded expectations with last season's
win total. Now they have two Tar Heels (Felton and May) to distract the
locals in case they can't overachieve again.

29 (29) Hornets 18-64 It doesn't feel right to be talking about basketball
in the same sentence with New Orleans, but the harsh reality is that Hornets
will be shown no mercy in a conference where there are so many
playoff-worthy teams.

30 (21) Raptors 33-49 If we were ranking our favorite NBA cities, Toronto
would be tops. But we're ranking teams, and this one returns with even the
under-fire GM forecasting gloom.


--
"It's time for the Birdman to fly."
-- Chris Andersen before missing 47 straight dunks in the 2005 Slam Dunk
Contest.


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