Power Ranking the NBA - Final Preseason Rankings

The NBA season is just hours (33 hours to be exact) away and teams eiter seem to be in top gear bursting out of the gate or wishing that they still had another couple weeks to get into shape. The injury bug has hit a couple teams early and they are hurting for it. In unrelated news, I slept through my fantasy live draft and ended up with Gerald wallace, Shawn Marion, Paul Pierce, Antawn Jamison, Tayshaun Prince, Josh Childress, and Corey Maggette on the same team. Whoops...

Onto the rankings (Last week in parentheses):

1. San Antonio Spurs (4): You knew they were going to take this spot eventually, why not now?

2. Phoenix Suns (3)

3. Boston Celtics (5): KG may have gotten a triple double, but the season hinges on Rajon Rondo's jumper.

4. Houston Rockets (2): Closed out the preseason with 3 straight losses to finish last in the Southwest.

5. Dallas Mavericks (1): Not showing to many ill effects yet, but how will they cope with the loss of Josh Howard?

6. Utah Jazz (6)

7. Detroit Pistons (7)

8. Chicago Bulls (10)

9. Toronto Raptors (9)

10. Denver Nuggets (13): AI and Melo seem to be clicking better than ever after putting up 133 against the Blazer when Linas Kleiza (who?) put up 34.

11. Cleveland Cavaliers: Lebron and shlubs won't be good enough to win the revamped East.

12. New Orleans Hornets(11)

13. Charlotte Bobcats (12)

14. Orlando Magic(14): Five straight wins in the preseason does not a great team make (ask the Hawks).

15. Miami Heat (22): They brought in Ricky Davis for some emergency help, which doesn't really bode well for the state of the squad.

16. Golden State Warriors (16)

17. Memphis Grizzlies(21): Showed potential in back-to-back wins vs. the Rockets, but then let the Pacers put up 140.

18. Indiana Pacers (24): People (including me) forget that this was the team to beat before the brawl.

19. Los Angeles Lakers (15): How long is the Kobe issue going to hang over their heads?

20. New York Knicks (17)

21. Washington Wizards (18): Brandon Haywood has the Center position to himself (Andray Blatche?) without Etan Thomas pushing him, which isn't good for Wizards fans.

22. New Jersey Nets (19)

23. Milwaukee Bucks (25): The young guns are starting to come around.

24. Atlanta Hawks (27): 7-1 in the preseason counts for something right?

25. Sacramento Kings (29): Mike Bibby is out for a couple weeks, look for Kevin Martin to shine.

26. Los Angeles Clippers (20): They need a lot from Maggette and Kaman with Elton Brand out for a while.

27. Philadelphia 76ers (28): Down here it is a war of attrition; just don't get worse and your ranking will probably improve.

28. Seattle Supersonics (26)

29. Portland Trailblazers (23): No GODE, no Roy, the Blazers want a mulligan.

30. Minnesota Timberwolves (30): The loss of Ricky Davis doesn't hurt too much with Corey Brewer, Gerald Green, and Ryan Gomes waiting in the wings. Even still it hurts when you lose your best player (Al Jefferson?), even if it is just Ricky Davis.

Think your team got slighted? You're probably right! Comment about it.