somebody care to make a preseason power rankings?

[manasrai]

it'd just be cool to see who ranks where in the preseason...

or maybe a projected playoff seeds?

I dunno, just some "fun" ideas to keep the league lively if you have the time.

[Nathanjyd]

I'll do one today

[Nathanjyd]

Final Four

1. New York Knicks- Arenas/Finley/White/Gasol/Duncan
This is the team to beat for me this year. They have the reigning MVP plus some other great players like Gasol and Finley. Duncan, Gasol, and Finley accompanied with some great role players like Gilbert Arenas, Rodney White, Stephen Jackson, and Al Harrington makes quite a deadly combination. Will they win the championship? I don’t know, but it seems to me that they might have the best chances to do it. Look for Arenas to have a break out season, as Finley starts to decline with his age.

2. Los Angeles Lakers- Miller/Iverson/Young/Wallace/O’Neal
Allen Iverson led his team to the finals a few years ago by himself. He systematically shreds defenses on his way to 30 points a game. Now add Shaq who won a few titles back in La La Land and you could have a championship team again. Rasheed Wallace and Andre Miller have been great contributors adding 37 combined points a game last year. Something tells me getting Shaq for nothing was the missing piece to the puzzle. One more question, who the heck will play small forward? This team did not make the playoffs last year, so it’s surprising to see them so high on rankings. Shaq + Iverson could be a deadly duo.

3. Chicago Bulls- Livingston/James/McGrady/Okafor/Curry
Has there ever been a power rankings in BBS without Chicago in the top four? After a few general manager changes, this team comes back with a whole new roster. No more days of Duncan, Kobe, Pierce, LeBron and the rest all on one team. They have a new look with young stars starting at four of the five positions. Then there’s the staple, Tracy McGrady. The bench is also bolstered with Boozer, Jamison and Allan Houston. They may be in the finals again depending on how their rivals, Detroit, fair after remodeling their team also. Lebron may need to turn it up a notch if they want to go far.

4. Golden St. Warriors- Shakur/Pietrus/Johnson/Nowitzki/Ming
They won the championship with nearly the same roster, so I had to put them in the final four. Yao and Dirk create havoc in the front court which leads to easy baskets for the underrated guards. Losing Marbury hurts, but Shakur should step up considering he had 14, 7 and 4 last year with the Cavs. Bench play could be the key to winning another championship with Okur, Jianlan, Posey, Davis and Stinson. I don’t think they can win it without Foyle getting out of depression though ;-). Ming and Nowitzki could be tough to stop like Duncan and Gasol out East. They could use a little bit more production out of the backcourt.

Comments: Has Detroit ever been out of the top four? They could come up big and surprise some people with a totally different roster. Looks like BBS has gone back to the perennial teams at the top with the Knicks, Lakers, and Bulls in the top four.

Elite 8

5. Detroit Pistons- Banks/Artest/Childress/Odom/O’neal
Like Chicago, Detroit comes with a totally different squad this year. After dealing Kobe and Shaq most thought they wouldn’t be that good. Jermaine O’neal has always been the man up front, and he will continue to be hoping to win that elusive championship again. Odom may be a little out of position because he will get dominated by power forwards in the East like Gasol, Okafor, and Brand in my opinion. Lots of pressure is on Childress to perform, but if he doesn’t they can just put in Josh Smith as another option. Artest and O’Neal are reunited and hopefully with a good supporting cast, they can win the championship. Banks needs to step it up also for them to have a good shot.

6. Minnesota Timberwolves- Tinsley/Allen/Kirilenko/Randolph/Morris
They are one of the best, most unselfish, team in the league. Everyone gets their touches and makes things happen. Allen is one of the most consistent players on a night in and night out basis and when he has good teammates they produce wins. They have a great second option at point with Jack and they complement each other great. Kirilenko. Shareef is also a great sixth man and possibly the best in the league. They may need a little more size upfront to stop Nowitzki, Ming and Shaq out west.

7. Utah Jazz- Terry/Jefferson/Marion/Martin/James
Utah has an awesome three headed monster with Jefferson, Marion and Martin. Jefferson, and Martin helped NJ to the finals and be a dominant team in the East, so I think with Terry and Marion they could be real contenders. A team that you don’t know who will lead in scoring that night. Four of their five starters had over 15 points a game which shows you how unselfish the team is. They remind me much of the Pistons where any player could torch you any night. I think the coach needs to talk to Jerome James to get him to produce or ship him out. He is the only weak piece on this team. They have some veteran backups with lots of experience like Kittles, Jackson and Thomas.

8. Toronto Raptors- Felton/Ginobli/Battier/Brand/Bosh
This is one of the best young teams in BBS. Felton and Harrison are one of the top up and coming guard combinations in the league. Then in the offseason they add another monster, Manu Ginobli. Battier has always been a good player, who can do a little of everything. Brand and Bosh are great up front, and the most underrated front court in the league. This team may make some noise in the playoffs, depending on how they gel. Toronto is a real sleeper, mark my words…<br>
Final 8

9. Seattle Supersonics- Heinrich/Prince/Harpring/Howard/Wallace
They had a great season last year and went into the playoffs as the third best team in the west. Ben Wallace is my favorite player but I don’t think he can match his 15 and 15 a game averages he set last year. This team could be a surpise or a blunder depending on how their youngins do. Dwight Howard and Kirk Heinrich definitely have to step it up for the team to go far in the playoffs. The addition of Dsagana Diop adds to their bench brigade of Tim Thomas, Stromile Swift and Doug Christie. This is a statement year for the ball club.

10. Atlanta Hawks- Brown/Gordon/Pierce/Caracter/Samardzski
I may be a little bias, but I think the Hawks are one of the most underrated teams in the league. Paul Pierce led the league in scoring last year as Caracter won rookie of the year. Shannon Brown was arguable the most surprising rookie, even winning rookie of the month one time. Gordon sacrificed shots and points for the good of the team, and moved to SG. Samardzski is a nice big man up front who contributes 10 and 10 every game. Look for them to get a lot of wins.

11. Washington Wizards- Marbury/Anthony/Maggette/Jefferson/Nene
Adding Marbury fresh off a championship may take this team to new places. Carmelo Anthony and Stephon Marbury will be a heck of a good backcourt arguably the best in the East. Maggette always chips in his fair share, and provides a nice third option. Al Jefferson and Nene need to bulk up to be able to take some of the brutal beating from the dominant big men in the East. They could do very well, depending if they hold their own in the paint. Expect this team to be another sleeper and possibly do some damage.

12. Portland Trailblazers- Harris/Szczerbiak/Radmonovic/Garnett/Clark
This team had tremendous success last year but I don’t see them doing quite as well this year. Still a tremendous team, but with the power shifting out west a little more they could be in trouble. Harris is one of the most underrated PG’s considering he average 20 and 8 last season. Then there’s Wally who can shoot well and knockdown some open jumpers. Radmonovic and Clark are decent role players who compliment KG quite well. Garnett will lead this team into the playoffs, and possibly past the first round alone.

13. Miami Heat- Cassell/Wade/Lewis/Gooden/Chandler

14. New Jersey Nets- McInnis/Bryant/Stojakovis/Taft/Andriuskevicus

15. Dallas Mavericks- Nash/Carter/Richardson/Walker/Camby

16. Los Angeles Clippers- Francis/Wagner/Robinson/Stoudemire/Dalembert

17. Sacramento Kings- Kidd/Stackhouse/Hill/Webber/Ilgauskas

18. Philadelphia 76ers- Jaric/Igoudala/Aleksandrov/Aldridge/Tskitishvili

Honorable Mention: Houston Rockets

[manasrai]

[Thunder]

Great article. Thanks for taking the time man!

[NYKnicksGM]

I like it.... I like it alot ;D

[SpursGM]

NYKnicksGM said:

I like it.... I like it alot ;D

Haha, no kidding.

Damn the Spurs can't get no respect?

[Dustin]

Thanks for taking the time to write this....you did an EXCELLENT job!

[SpursGM]

SpursGM said:

Haha, no kidding.

Damn the Spurs can't get no respect?

12-6, 2nd in division hottest team in the league right now at 8-2 in last 10. Don't mean to be tooting my own horn here but...