|
For the purposes of review, this initial batch serves as a barometer of each team's standing heading into camp, based on Stein's special formula.
That formula? It gauges how good a team is projected to be along with how good its summer was ... with a dash of totally subjective whim factored in.
The next set of rankings will appear on Halloween -- on the eve of Opening Night -- after all 30 teams have a month to impress us. The rankings will then continue every Monday through the regular season. Click here to comment on the first batch of rankings.
Editor's note: Last Week and Record categories are from the final Power Rankings of the 2004-05 season.
2006 Power Rankings: Training Camp | ||||
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 best-of-the-rest status. | |
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. |
헐...22위라니
Marc Stein는 뭐하는 거삼..10위 밖에 팀중에 필리보다 강해보이는팀은 없는데..
웨버를 무시했나..
첫댓글 이거는 진짜 좀 심하네요...뭐 시즌이 시작하면 식서스가 마크 스타인을 바보 처럼 만들거라고 믿습니다...
(난입 ㅈㅅ) 웨버가 내년 시즌에 어느정도를 해줄지 아무도 모르는일이지만 적어도 2000년대 초 전성기때의 웨버는 절대로 아니라고 봅니다. chuck님은 웨버한테 너무 기대를하는게 아닌지..
제퍼슨을 다시 장착한 뉴저지, 챈들러 그리고 (아마) 커리랑 재계약 성공한 시카고, 휴즈를 잃긴했지만 여전히 강한 전력을 자랑하는 워싱턴, 또 멤피스,시애틀..무시할 수없는 팀이죠. 물론 필리가 조금 과소평가당한 면은 좀 보이지만 chuck님의 10위밖 팀중에 필리보다 강해보인는팀은 없는데라는 말에는 동의할수없네요
웨버만 부활한다면 당장 10위권으로~
xzero님말처럼 제가 오바한걸 수 도 있지만 필리도 몇몇팀에 비해 전력강화를 약하게 했다고 보기 힘듭니다. 제가 웨버에게 2001년 으로 돌아가라고 바라는것도 아닙니다만 작년보단 훨씬 잘할거고 그렇게만 해준대도 대충 중위권은 할겁니다. 여긴 특정팸이니 저는 당연히 오바한거고 신경쓰지말기 바라구요.
chuck님 기분상하셨다면..죄송합니다.. ㅜㅜ
저는 절대 기분이 상하지 않습니다..ㅋㅋㅋ
우리팸에서 우리생각을 얘기하는데 제로님 너무 들이대시네요 ㅋㅋㅋ (ㅈㅅ)
네츠와 불스는 좀 강팀으로 보이네요 그래도 22위는 너무했다...
시즌 시작하고 부터는 10계단은 상승해줄듯
필리가 좀 과소평가 되었다고 봅니다..벅스, 닉스, 울브즈, 레이커스, 셀틱스보다 뒤진다고 보이진 않는데요..
시즌 시작되면 알겠죠. 저 랭킹이 틀렸는지 옳았는지요 ㅋㅋ
토론토가 애틀하고 뉴올에 밀리는건 오바다
(난입) 파워랭킹은 참고사항일뿐... 뚜껑열어봐야 아는거죠.. ㅋㅋ 장사하루이틀하는것도 아니고..
음하하... 그러니깐.. 인디애나에게 업셋하고 , 클블잡으면 결승으로..갈수 있다니깐요.. ㅋㅋ 디트만 어떻게 이기면 됨... 결승에서는 피닉스 잡고.. 그럼 우승..ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
NBA에서 가장 열정이 뛰어난 두선수를 무시하기는 힘들지요.. 암..
쫌 오버하면... 유타도 항상 강팀이었음.. 현재까지는 가장 유사한 모델이 될 수 있다고 봅니다.
말이 안된다 ㅋ필리 젊은피들의 성장가능성은 무궁무진한데 그걸 캐취못했네..