NBA.com July 2014 Power Rankings

[matt6715]

Soo..

WESTERN CONFERENCE
1. Spurs
2. Thunder
3. Clippers
4. Mavericks
5. Warriors
6. Trailblazers
7. Rockets
8. Grizzlies
9. Suns
10. Wolves
11. Pelicans
12. Nuggets
13. Kings
14. Lakers
15. Jazz

EASTERN CONFERENCE
1. Bulls
2. Cavaliers
3. Raptors
4. Wizards
5. Pacers
6. Heat
7. Hornets
8. Nets
9. Hawks
10. Knicks
11. Pistons
12. Celtics
13. Magic
14. Bucks
15. Sixers

Even as a Mavs fan, I can't see a 4 seed. 6 seed is probably a conservative estimate, with Warriors and Blazers moving up to some combo of 4/5. I'm sure just like last year there will be a mass of teams between 50 and 55 wins, so who really knows

[[e]]

Oh get over yourself, it's damn confusing.

Charlotte Hornets, then New Orleans Hornets, then OKC Hornets, then New Orleans Hornets again, then the New Orleans Pelicans, and a franchise that has barely been around for 10 years in a city that used to be an NBA city for the Hornets taking the name of another franchise (the name Hornets was not even 12 months removed!), it's a hot mess. Funny thing is, even New Orleans used to be home to another NBA franchise in the 1970s (the Jazz ofcourse).

Let's just ignore the fact those rankings are on NBA.com. You'd think they of all people could get it right. Pretty sad really.

[LofJ]

Counting on Tyson Chandler to propel the Mavs to a top 10 defense is a big stretch. Their offense is guaranteed to be top 5 in the league though, I definitely agree with that.

I don't agree with us (Charlotte) being 7th in the East either. Our defense will be even better this year and our offense will improve with Stephenson taking over for Henderson. I expect us to be in the top 12 in Net Rating by the time the season is over. That should probably put us at the 6 seed (5 if we're lucky) so I guess this ranking isn't that far off.

I think Charlotte is definitely better than the Heat and Pacers at this point. They will be the 4th or 5th seed, depending on Washington's performance, IMO.

I'd hesitate to put us that far up because I'm not sure about Marvin Williams and Cody Zeller at the 4 spot yet. If they perform better than expected though it's certainly possible.

[ForeverTFC]

Toronto isn't better than washington when washington aquired the key reason they didn't advance I'm the playoffs not to mention the deepest frontcourt in the league

I see the Raptors/Wizards/Hawks/Hornets in the same tier.

But if you dig into the stats, the Raptors were better than the Wizards last year, and have brought everyone back and likely have the best bench in the east. Couple in with the fact that they were a top 10 offense and defense, and you can see why they would be placed at the top of the group.

And if we want to rank based on standings, again the Raptors seem like a better bet to finish with more wins, as they play in the Atlantic, while Wash, Cha, Atl, and Mia will be battling each other in the southeast.

[GOLDFINCH]

Toronto isn't better than washington when washington aquired the key reason they didn't advance I'm the playoffs not to mention the deepest frontcourt in the league

I would argue this statement as Toronto did the same thing in the offseason getting James Johnson to guard bigger wings as it was Joe Johnson who eliminated them last year. Throw in Lou Williams and they are much deeper than Washington. Not to mention they destroyed Washington in head to head matchups last year.

[CBS7]

"Tyson Chandler Parsons"

Nyuk.

[cpower]

Mavs at 4 is .. not happening.

[DuckIII]

Dallas and Golden State over Cleveland and Chicago is pretty hard to justify.

[LofJ]

If the Cavaliers don't improve their frontcourt I think the Raptors or Wizards will end up getting the 2 seed.

[realball]

Toronto isn't better than washington when washington aquired the key reason they didn't advance I'm the playoffs not to mention the deepest frontcourt in the league

The key reason why they didn't advance in the playoffs was Joe Johnson, not Paul Pierce. Pierce was barely better than Trevor Ariza last season.

And since when does Washington have the deepest frontcourt? Blair and Humphries aren't that great. They're undersized PFs who don't play defense.

[Effigy]

Did that article really say the Blazers got smoked by the Rockets in the playoffs?

It actually says we got smoked by the Rockets AND the Spurs in the playoffs last year. Lol. Which is a pretty impressive feat to be able to be smoked by two different teams. I guess the Rockets must have forfeited after being up 3-0 or something.

[canguy20m]

so

the raptors make the playoffs in the West !!

and rank just behind the cavaliers in the East.

[canguy20m]

how can you rank the mavs that high ?

They barely made the playoffs, probably were V.Carter away from being out. They add Parsons and now have homecourt.

[JasonStern]

Dallas and Golden State over Cleveland and Chicago is pretty hard to justify.

I disagree. I think that simply adding LeBron and a 19 year old rookie that plays the same position to a lottery team doesn't immediately propel that lottery team ahead of proven teams from a much deeper conference. eastern conference contenders? absolutely. but to be in the top half of the west, the Cavaliers would need to either make a consolidation trade or simply spend some time building team chemistry.

I'm not going to comment on Chicago as they will go as far as Rose takes them, which at this point is unknown.

also, Raptors over Grizzlies? not trying to take anything away from the Raptors, who are my favorites to win the Atlantic division, but people actually favor them over a healthy Grizzlies team in a 7 game series?

[whocurrz]

I think Grizzlies should be at about 5 or 6. They were a great team when healthy last year and I really like the addition of Jordan Adams on both sides of the ball. Having Gasol behind him allows him to gamble on defense which he likes to allowing a disruptive back court even when Tony Allen is off the court. If VC can play like he has the last two years I think this team gets a top 4 seed in the West and is better than Dallas and Golden State.

[Xsy]

Oh get over yourself, it's damn confusing.

Charlotte Hornets, then New Orleans Hornets, then OKC Hornets, then New Orleans Hornets again, then the New Orleans Pelicans, and a franchise that has barely been around for 10 years in a city that used to be an NBA city for the Hornets taking the name of another franchise (the name Hornets was not even 12 months removed!), it's a hot mess. Funny thing is, even New Orleans used to be home to another NBA franchise in the 1970s (the Jazz ofcourse).

Its really not that confusing.

[Detective]

also, Raptors over Grizzlies? not trying to take anything away from the Raptors, who are my favorites to win the Atlantic division, but people actually favor them over a healthy Grizzlies team in a 7 game series?

The Raps actually give the Grizzlies fits in a straight match-up. We beat them in both games last season(including one pre-Rudy's trade) by an average of 15 points, and held them to essentially 86 points in both games.

Jonas plays well against both Gasol and Randolph, and they have no answer to our perimeter scoring. We were basically 52.5% from 3 in both contests.

[DuckIII]

Oh get over yourself, it's damn confusing.

Charlotte Hornets, then New Orleans Hornets, then OKC Hornets, then New Orleans Hornets again, then the New Orleans Pelicans, and a franchise that has barely been around for 10 years in a city that used to be an NBA city for the Hornets taking the name of another franchise (the name Hornets was not even 12 months removed!), it's a hot mess. Funny thing is, even New Orleans used to be home to another NBA franchise in the 1970s (the Jazz ofcourse).

Its really not that confusing.

Its not even a tiny bit confusing.

[Bankai]

also, Raptors over Grizzlies? not trying to take anything away from the Raptors, who are my favorites to win the Atlantic division, but people actually favor them over a healthy Grizzlies team in a 7 game series?

The Raptors were 2-0 against the Grizzlies last season and yes Randolph and Gasol were playing. I could see why they would assume that. Kind of like how the the Nets were supposed to give the Heat trouble after going 4-0 against them.

That said. I personally would bet on Grizzlies in a 7 game playoff series.

[JaysRule15]

Toronto isn't better than washington when washington aquired the key reason they didn't advance I'm the playoffs not to mention the deepest frontcourt in the league

Washington got Joe Johnson?