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NBA Power Rankings [ 30 - 21 ]
Topic Started: Aug 10 2013, 12:47 AM (683 Views)
Donny
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NBA Power Rankings 1 of 3, written by yours truly.

30 - Philadelphia 76ers
Projected Starting 5:
C: Spencer Hawes
PF: Thaddeus Young
SF: Evan Turner
SG: Jason Richardson
PG: Michael Carter-Williams

The 76ers are the irrelevants of my power rankings and with good reason. Their Guards look atrocious, MCW was a good passer in college but can he equate that into success in the NBA? I'd have to say probably not, especially with the people around him. Sharpshooter Jason Richardson's not anything near what he used to be. Evan Turner's not proved himself to be a solid scoring option, but he provides much needed defense to the squad. Thad Young will likely be the 76ers top scoring option this season, which is scary just to write, let alone see it play out on the court. Spencer Hawes is a low-tiered starting Center and will be biding his time until Nerlens Noel's ready to go. Before trading Jrue, this team'd likely be more about 22-23, but giving up your best scorer for a Center coming off of a devastating injury is just frightening to think about. Look for this team to fight for the #1 pick next season.

29 - Orlando Magic
Projected Starting 5:
C: Nikola Vucevic
PF: Glen Davis
SF: Tobias Harris
SG: Arron Afflalo
PG: Jameer Nelson
Surprise surprise, the Magic land at #29. At least this team has more upside than the 76ers going for them, getting Victor Oladipo from the draft, who may eventually take over the SG reins from Arron Afflalo, as he'll likely be traded midseason, despite the reports that the Orlando Magic office loves Afflalo and he's as close to an untouchable as they have. This team's merely young, with Harris/Davis/Vucevic not completely developed yet, although all three have shown flashes of pure brilliance at their respective positions. The real question is, is this team really going to try to compete? The highest, in my opinion, the Magic can land is about 11th in the conference, with so much strength ahead of them. Look for this team to compete for the #1 pick with the 76ers and other teams below.

28 - Utah Jazz
Projected Starting 5:
C: Enes Kanter
PF: Derrick Favors
SF: Gordon Hayward
SG: Alec Burks
PG: Trey Burke
The Jazz competed til the end of the season last season, barely missing the playoffs and landing in the 9th seed. Then, a catastrophe happened. No one wanted to stay on the team, at all. The Jazz will have one member of their starting 5 in game 82 of the 2012-2013 season starting for them in the 2013-2014 season, which spells doom for them. Trey Burke's going to have to take on a huge workload in his 1st season for this team to even win games. If Kanter and Favors can be a solid duo at the bigman positions this team may be able to compete, as it's what's kept this team alive the past few seasons. I don't see this team being anywhere better than the 13th seed in the West for the simple facts that they are a young, inexperienced team with very little going for them at the moment.

27 - Milwaukee Bucks
Projected Starting 5:
C: Larry Sanders
PF: Ersan Ilyasova
SF: Carlos Delfino
SG: OJ Mayo
PG: Brandon Knight
Talk about mediocrity... this team is the definition of wierd. Sanders is a good Center, nothing more. Ersan Ilyasova's a mediocre defender, and Delfino's really a bench guy. Now, the shining light of the team comes from the Guard positions. OJ Mayo's a solid scorer that hasn't shown his full upside yet and Brandon Knight's a young scoring Guard who is built much more like an SG. This team could contend for the 8th seed in the east but I'm thinking this team's going to be absolutely terrible.

26 - Phoenix Suns
Projected Starting 5:
C: Marcin Gortat
PF: Markieff Morris
SF: Caron Butler
SG: Eric Bledsoe
PG: Goran Dragic
This will be the most boring team in basketball, I'm guessing. This team won't be able to match up well to any team in the NBA other than those below them in my rankings. Dragic is a mid-tier PG. Bledsoe's a mid-low level SG. Butler's getting older. Morris is unproven. Gortat's the best player on the team, in my opinion. He's just not as strong as anyone wants him to be at the C position, making this team lackluster at best and severely hurting whenever having to face any team with bigmen who are dominant in the post. This team has no upside, especially after dealing Scola away for next to nothing.

25 - Charlotte Bobcats
C: Cody Zeller
PF: Al Jefferson
SF: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
SG: Gerald Henderson
PG: Kemba Walker
This is the team of the future right here. Now? They stand very little chance to do anything this season with no bench depth whatsoever, and a still developing Kemba/Gerald/MKG and a rookie Zeller. If this team happens to get a top 5 pick for next seasons draft... they could become a possible powerhouse. Everyone's asking if they are ready to make the step right now into contenderland, my answer is no, we'll have to see how this young team develops.

24 - Boston Celtics
Projected Starting 5:
C: Kelly Olynyk
PF: Brandon Bass
SF: Jeff Green
SG: Avery Bradley
PG: Rajon Rondo
Talk about a team with role players galore depth-wise but the starting 5 is mediocre at best, the Celtics are the team to talk about. Outside of Bradley and Rondo, this team's going to have little to no scoring, probably chipping in under 14 ppg in the forward and center positions. The C's have alot going for them in the future though. The trade bait is impressive, with Jordan Crawford, Kris Humphries, Marshon Brooks, and Courtney lee all likely to hear their names tossed around this season, maybe even players like Rondo and Bass being moved for unimaginable amounts of prospects and picks. No one expects much out of this team with Doc departing, and neither do I.

23 - Sacramento Kings
Projected Starting 5:
C: DeMarcus Cousins
PF: Carl Landry
SF: John Salmons
SG: Ben McLemore
PG: Greivis Vasquez
I love what they've done with the team so far but this team's obviously a huge work in progress. McLemore's a solid SG who was in my opinion the most NBA-ready player in the draft and can provide an instant impact, with good role players around him. If Cousins can remain sane and not be a cancer to the team, this team could end up contending in a few seasons and being a real power, depending upon their success in free agency as well as their drafting strength.

22 - Washington Wizards
Projected Starting 5:
C: Emeka Okafor
PF: Nene
SF: Trevor Ariza
SG: Bradley Beal
PG: John Wall
John Wall and Bradley Beal are a dynamic duo at Guard, and then it all goes downhill from there. Ariza/Webster are the options at SF and that's mediocrity at its' finest. Nene and Okafor are both over the hill players that are pretty much just there to rebound and provide you with 12 PPG, and then the bench is just terrible. Eric Maynor and Kevin Seraphin are likely to get the most minutes off the bench, which is just a meh situation for everyone in Washington. Otto Porter Jr. looks to command some minutes and work his way into the starting job as well, starting on the bench. Washington needs to get themselves a few young bigmen and groom them and they'll have an extremely solid squad for the future. The future looks bright, today, not so much.

21 - Toronto Raptors
Projected Starting 5:
C: Jonas Valanciunas
PF: Amir Johnson
SF: Rudy Gay
SG: DeMar Derozan
PG: Kyle Lowry
The one thing that the Raps say they have over almost any other franchise in the league is depth. Off the bench the Raptors have DJ Augustin, Steve Novak, Landry Fields, Terrence Ross, and Tyler Hansbrough. The starting 5, however, probably isn't going to win them anything any time soon. The Guard positions look decent, but Lowry's had issues making the next step into being a valuable passing PG, while DeMar Derozan and Rudy Gay are both contenders to make the All-Star team this season. Amir Johnson's a solid rebounder and can score a little bit, but won't ever be enough of an impact to make a huge difference and won't be able to stop any PF that's bigger than him. Jonas Valanciunas has all the skills to become a good Center but his rebounding is mediocre at the moment which is a huge problem if the Raptors ever want him to take the next step. Trading Bargnani was a step in the right direction, and this team looks to compete in the East for a playoff spot.

Tune in next time for 20-11.
Edited by Donny, Aug 10 2013, 01:46 AM.
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Tyler
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Stockholm Vikings General Manager

"Ariza/Webster are the options at SF" and you're forgetting Otto Porter Jr.

SHIT ARTICLE
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Donny
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Porter's not expected to start the season at the SF position, merely working his way into a valuable role player and eventually the starting role. I assume that he won't start at SF because of Ariza and Webster's experience and value at the position.
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Donny
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Tyler
Aug 10 2013, 12:59 AM
"Ariza/Webster are the options at SF" and you're forgetting Otto Porter Jr.

SHIT ARTICLE
Oh, and at least I took my time out to write this article, took me a couple hours. Guess I won't be finishing this.
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Vic
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yuugh.

Otto Porter JR is starting, don't be retarded and say Ariza is cause Webster/Ariza are coming off the bench.
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tripleaamin
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So Atlanta > Wizards basically?
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Dash
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Tanking

I think Milwaukee is going to be better than you think but I'm sure most Bucks fans would prefer a bottom 4 record. Wizards are gonna be a playoff team imo, certainly looked like one when Wall came back and became a top 5 defensive team during that span.
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Donny
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I feel like Atlanta will be able to succeed better than the Wizards because of Millsap and Horford being able to bounce strengths off of each other.

And, to Vic: No one knows who's going to start game 1 of the seasom yet. I went with the experience pick to be safe.
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Vic
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yuugh.

Actually projected rosters came up a week ago or two.
Wizards projected roster
Wall
Beal
Porter JR
Nene
Okafor
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TCM
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The Cock Muncher

ill take the team with the better backcourt the strong frontcourt over a team with kyle korver starting
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Dash
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Donny
Aug 10 2013, 10:33 AM
I feel like Atlanta will be able to succeed better than the Wizards because of Millsap and Horford being able to bounce strengths off of each other.

And, to Vic: No one knows who's going to start game 1 of the seasom yet. I went with the experience pick to be safe.
Atlanta had a very good offseason, Milsap was signed to a total steal of a deal and I've been a fan of Schroeder for some time. I just can't believe Danny Ferry actually thinks that they'll be better off this year by losing a game-changer on defense in Josh Smith. The Hawks are clearly trying to implement the Spurs culture into Atlanta and will probably be copy catting Houston's passive-aggressive "competing" mode prior to the Harden trade. In essence I think its entirely possible that the Hawks intend to deal Milsap, who again is on a great value contract, along with Kyle Korver (a hot commodity among contenders for sure if he's shopped) at the trade deadline.

Regardless of whether or not there is a deal, I'm not too hot on this Atlanta team. They are an elite team in the post with Milsap and Horford and having a sniper in Korver is a sweet fit, but Josh Smith is just far more valuable for his defense alone and I don't see the Hawks finishing with in the top 6 in the East like they did last year. So they'll be in the hunt for the playoffs along with the Wizards, Cavaliers, Pistons, Raptors and Bucks (the only teams that want those final few spots. Toronto may not if they blow it up soon). Personally I think Washington is going to nab the 6th seed assuming Nene and Wall stay healthy, Detroit with Drummond/Monroe/Smith will certainly take the 7th, and 8th comes down to Atlanta and Cleveland.
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Donny
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Vic
Aug 10 2013, 10:52 AM
Actually projected rosters came up a week ago or two.
Wizards projected roster
Wall
Beal
Porter JR
Nene
Okafor
Projected rosters by analysts, this is just what I think's going to happen Game 1 of the season, maybe Otto Porter's going to start, it still doesn't change my opinion on the team as he's never played an NBA game before... many many players can't equate what they do in college to what they can do in the NBA.

AND:

I just think as a lineup the Hawks are stronger than the Wizards. Teague is a solid facilitator, Lou Williams can score, Korver's a solid 3 point shooter and has developed his defense over his career, and the duo of their two big men is one of the best in the league, along with them having a pretty decent bench lead by Elton Brand.

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Donny
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I couldn't drop a team with one of the most elite bigmen in the league under #20 overall. It would've been a shame.
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Dash
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If you're trying to win, you start the best guy and right now Ariza is far more established defensively. Porter can be starting by mid-season but I don't expect him to right out of the gate. Webster is also a pretty underrated player.
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Vic
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yuugh.

Donny
Aug 10 2013, 11:10 AM
Vic
Aug 10 2013, 10:52 AM
Actually projected rosters came up a week ago or two.
Wizards projected roster
Wall
Beal
Porter JR
Nene
Okafor
Projected rosters by analysts, this is just what I think's going to happen Game 1 of the season, maybe Otto Porter's going to start, it still doesn't change my opinion on the team as he's never played an NBA game before... many many players can't equate what they do in college to what they can do in the NBA.

AND:

I just think as a lineup the Hawks are stronger than the Wizards. Teague is a solid facilitator, Lou Williams can score, Korver's a solid 3 point shooter and has developed his defense over his career, and the duo of their two big men is one of the best in the league, along with them having a pretty decent bench lead by Elton Brand.

Woah woah woah woah...


and? Bradley Beal last year was a rookie and was inserted into the starting lineup in Game one of the NBA for the Wizards if I am not mistaken


John Wall is much more faster and much more athletic than Jeff Teague, he could pass more, score more and do whatever he needs to fill the starting PG role, Bradley Beal is more of a scorer and a defender than Lou Williams, I'll give Korver that considering he can shoot the three and play defense, I'll also give that both Horford and Millsap are one of the best big man combinations of the league, one can completely play solid defense while the other can score, but Okafor can score and play D, and so can Nene. The Wizards bench is better than the Hawks bench by a ton. Kevin Seraphin is improving his game and so is Trevor Booker, as they're both young. Ariza is a lockdown defender, can get steals etc.


Edit: If Wizards want to win, then you would see Ariza locking up on Korver.
Edited by Vic, Aug 10 2013, 11:21 AM.
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Donny
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What I guess some of you aren't understanding is that these are my predictions for who the starting 5 will be GAME ONE of the season. ;p
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Donny
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AND VICTOR:

The Wizards didn't have any sort of real option at SG last season, so inserting Beal was pretty much the only thing they could do. Now, they've got Webster and Ariza, two seasoned veterans who play good defense and can score.
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Dash
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Donny
Aug 10 2013, 11:12 AM
I couldn't drop a team with one of the most elite bigmen in the league under #20 overall. It would've been a shame.
I don't think anyone is arguing against that, just that the Wizards are a little low.

FWIW I count 10 Western Conference teams that are definitely better than Atlanta: San Antonio, Houston, Oklahoma City, Golden State, Denver, the Clippers, Memphis, Denver, Minnesota, and Portland. Followed by a probable in Dallas and two question marks in the Lakers and Pelicans (or Pellies?). That's 11 teams that on paper certainly look like better teams and a ceiling of 13.

Now the top 5 in the East is all but locked up with Miami, Chicago, Brooklyn, Indiana and New York. That now makes it 16 teams that most likely will be better teams than Atlanta and a max of 18. Then you have this slew of teams with Washington, Detroit, Toronto, Cleveland, Milwaukee (considering that they're going to actually try this year, I'd rank them higher) and of course Atlanta that are all gunning for the final spots in the East. When you also consider that most here have Washington finishing ahead, its not a stretch to say Atlanta could be ranked 20th or possibly even lower (doubtful though).
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Donny
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I'm still not sure that this team's really a contender, as the team's just ahead of them are all better than them, imo.
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TGIA
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Wow I can't believe you forgot Miami
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