Sup boys and girls, thought I'd do some power rankings before this season begins. Now here's my disclaimer: I'm not using any sort of formula or algorithm for this. It is completely based off rosters and what we saw in CPU and Pre. Feel free to debate and flame me. I don't give a fuck. Here we go:
1. New York Knicks
The Knicks look absolutely bonkers right now. Let's start with Tatum going +4/-1 (-1 to rebounding, who cares). Tatum is going to be on another level this season. In CPU he put up nearly 29/8/4 with splits of 49/94/52. And then in Pre he put up 27/9/3 on 48/92/41 despite frank trying to bench him. But also you've got Maxey and KAT backing him up. Those three are definitely the best big three in this league. They didn't play their main guys in preseason so we didn't really get a taste, but the Knicks are back with a vengeance this year. As long as those three stay healthy I can easily see the Knicks coming out of the east this year.
2. Oklahoma City Thunder
Yeah its my own team, but the Thunder are the reigning champs and I might argue that they look better this year than they did at the end of last year. Gobert was replaced by Bell, who looks great in preseason. Culver took another big step forward in TC (B A- C+ A- C) and AD is still AD. Not to mention Pippen is still one of the best scorers in this league. The Thunder are deeper this season also having added DJ Wilson, Gary Harris (+2 TC), Kevin Looney, and even old man Durant. In preseason they had the 2nd best point differential, lowest TO's, and third best offense. The Thunder are back to defend their title.
3. Houston Rockets
The Rockets went through some major changes this offseason. It's basically a brand new squad that is centered around Giannis and Embiid. This is definitely the scariest frontcourt in this league and the scariest we've seen since the Spurs put AD and Embiid together (although we all saw how that turned out). One thing is for sure, they're going to be one of the best teams on the boards this season. We're going to get to see Giannis starting at SF this year, which is something we haven't seen if a long time (if ever? Don't remember if anyone else has played him there much). I'm curious to see if dwight will switch his offense to inside or even just balanced, given his two best scorers are inside focused players.
4. Chicago Bulls
The Bulls are always going to be in contention as long as RJ Barrett wears a Bulls jersey. Unfortunately for the rest of the league, RJ is only 26 and it doesn't look like Ebbs is going to be trading him anytime soon. The Bulls boast a nice frontcourt of Omoruyi, Adebayo, and O'Neal. Adding Jalen Williams should help RJ a bit in the backcourt, but I think the Bulls might struggle a bit with depth. If RJ goes down, its RIP to the Bulls. In pre, the Bulls had the third best point differential, and were 2nd in RPG.
5. Los Angeles Clippers
Cloud has quietly put together a pretty deadly looking squad, especially on defense. He has two of the best defensive bigs in the league in JJJ and Walker (both former Thunder players I might add), then add in Barthelemy and Tomasevic and they're going to be giving opposing offenses hell on the court. But we also have to talk about JJJ's insane TC (+3 i think?). JJJ has gone from underrated player to a bonafide all-star. 26/9 in pre with 4.6bpg on 46/75/48 splits.
6. Sacramento Kings
I really like the squad that Ty has put together. They have an extremely talented starting five in Collins, Jokic, Porter Jr., Beal, and Mannion. Jokic and Beal are a really nice one-two punch and we are going to see a lot of 3 pointers raining down in Sacramento. Even Collins made 46% of his 3's in the preseason (although I expect that % to come down once the season gets underway). Weatherspoon and Bridges are two nice bench pieces also that should be able to contribute.
7. Indiana Pacers
The Pacers are a dark-horse title contender for me. I mean, they made it all the way to the finals last year with a full sweep of the Knicks in the second round. You could probably argue that they deserve to be higher on this list too. They aren't a flashy squad but they get the job done. They did swap Embiid for Kessler this year, a move that I really like for them because it gets them younger and I think Kessler is basically just Embiid 2.0.
8. Phoenix Suns
The Suns were the #2 seed last year in the west but ended up losing in 7 games in round one to the 7th seeded Warriors. This year they brought back the same squad plus Trae Young to run the point instead of Harmon. The Suns looked pretty solid in preseason quietly boasting the best point differential. James Wiseman looked great posting 14/11 with 3.8bpg in only 31mpg. Ayton is of course a beast still putting up 25/12 with 2.8bpg in pre. Let's see if the Suns can get revenge for their very short-lived postseason run last year.
9. Orlando Magic
In pre, the Magic had the second best record in the east, but I am skeptical that they will continue to be as dominant in the regular season, which is why I put them this low in the rankings. They've had a pretty good looking squad for a few seasons now, led by superstar Cole Anthony. Yet, they always seem to underachieve. Last year they were 6th seed and got knocked out in the first round and the year before that they were the #2 seed and also got knocked out in the first round. It's starting to feel like Cole is a regular season hero who can't get it done in the playoffs. Let's see if this team can break the cycle this year with a new GM behind the wheel.
10. Golden State Warriors
I think this Warriors squad looks pretty solid on paper. Suggs/Norvell/Ingram/Smith/Clarke can do some damage. They were able to knock out the #2 seeded Suns in the first round of the playoffs last year. They've got grit. I think perimeter defense could be an issue for this team, but they looked pretty decent together in the preseason. We'll see what new GM Nate has in store for this team.
1. New York Knicks
The Knicks look absolutely bonkers right now. Let's start with Tatum going +4/-1 (-1 to rebounding, who cares). Tatum is going to be on another level this season. In CPU he put up nearly 29/8/4 with splits of 49/94/52. And then in Pre he put up 27/9/3 on 48/92/41 despite frank trying to bench him. But also you've got Maxey and KAT backing him up. Those three are definitely the best big three in this league. They didn't play their main guys in preseason so we didn't really get a taste, but the Knicks are back with a vengeance this year. As long as those three stay healthy I can easily see the Knicks coming out of the east this year.
2. Oklahoma City Thunder
Yeah its my own team, but the Thunder are the reigning champs and I might argue that they look better this year than they did at the end of last year. Gobert was replaced by Bell, who looks great in preseason. Culver took another big step forward in TC (B A- C+ A- C) and AD is still AD. Not to mention Pippen is still one of the best scorers in this league. The Thunder are deeper this season also having added DJ Wilson, Gary Harris (+2 TC), Kevin Looney, and even old man Durant. In preseason they had the 2nd best point differential, lowest TO's, and third best offense. The Thunder are back to defend their title.
3. Houston Rockets
The Rockets went through some major changes this offseason. It's basically a brand new squad that is centered around Giannis and Embiid. This is definitely the scariest frontcourt in this league and the scariest we've seen since the Spurs put AD and Embiid together (although we all saw how that turned out). One thing is for sure, they're going to be one of the best teams on the boards this season. We're going to get to see Giannis starting at SF this year, which is something we haven't seen if a long time (if ever? Don't remember if anyone else has played him there much). I'm curious to see if dwight will switch his offense to inside or even just balanced, given his two best scorers are inside focused players.
4. Chicago Bulls
The Bulls are always going to be in contention as long as RJ Barrett wears a Bulls jersey. Unfortunately for the rest of the league, RJ is only 26 and it doesn't look like Ebbs is going to be trading him anytime soon. The Bulls boast a nice frontcourt of Omoruyi, Adebayo, and O'Neal. Adding Jalen Williams should help RJ a bit in the backcourt, but I think the Bulls might struggle a bit with depth. If RJ goes down, its RIP to the Bulls. In pre, the Bulls had the third best point differential, and were 2nd in RPG.
5. Los Angeles Clippers
Cloud has quietly put together a pretty deadly looking squad, especially on defense. He has two of the best defensive bigs in the league in JJJ and Walker (both former Thunder players I might add), then add in Barthelemy and Tomasevic and they're going to be giving opposing offenses hell on the court. But we also have to talk about JJJ's insane TC (+3 i think?). JJJ has gone from underrated player to a bonafide all-star. 26/9 in pre with 4.6bpg on 46/75/48 splits.
6. Sacramento Kings
I really like the squad that Ty has put together. They have an extremely talented starting five in Collins, Jokic, Porter Jr., Beal, and Mannion. Jokic and Beal are a really nice one-two punch and we are going to see a lot of 3 pointers raining down in Sacramento. Even Collins made 46% of his 3's in the preseason (although I expect that % to come down once the season gets underway). Weatherspoon and Bridges are two nice bench pieces also that should be able to contribute.
7. Indiana Pacers
The Pacers are a dark-horse title contender for me. I mean, they made it all the way to the finals last year with a full sweep of the Knicks in the second round. You could probably argue that they deserve to be higher on this list too. They aren't a flashy squad but they get the job done. They did swap Embiid for Kessler this year, a move that I really like for them because it gets them younger and I think Kessler is basically just Embiid 2.0.
8. Phoenix Suns
The Suns were the #2 seed last year in the west but ended up losing in 7 games in round one to the 7th seeded Warriors. This year they brought back the same squad plus Trae Young to run the point instead of Harmon. The Suns looked pretty solid in preseason quietly boasting the best point differential. James Wiseman looked great posting 14/11 with 3.8bpg in only 31mpg. Ayton is of course a beast still putting up 25/12 with 2.8bpg in pre. Let's see if the Suns can get revenge for their very short-lived postseason run last year.
9. Orlando Magic
In pre, the Magic had the second best record in the east, but I am skeptical that they will continue to be as dominant in the regular season, which is why I put them this low in the rankings. They've had a pretty good looking squad for a few seasons now, led by superstar Cole Anthony. Yet, they always seem to underachieve. Last year they were 6th seed and got knocked out in the first round and the year before that they were the #2 seed and also got knocked out in the first round. It's starting to feel like Cole is a regular season hero who can't get it done in the playoffs. Let's see if this team can break the cycle this year with a new GM behind the wheel.
10. Golden State Warriors
I think this Warriors squad looks pretty solid on paper. Suggs/Norvell/Ingram/Smith/Clarke can do some damage. They were able to knock out the #2 seeded Suns in the first round of the playoffs last year. They've got grit. I think perimeter defense could be an issue for this team, but they looked pretty decent together in the preseason. We'll see what new GM Nate has in store for this team.
