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Lakers at top of NBA’s heap, but B’klyn is on rise
ESPN’s Rose says Nets don’t have what it takes to win it all this season as Durant returns from injury layoff
T he NBA season has kicked off, which means it’s officially Power Ranking Season. Here is this year’s first installment. This list will be updated every 18 games.
TIER 1 CONTENDERS 1. Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers should be championship favorites again. They won last year’s title behind LeBron James and Anthony Davis, then immediately improved their roster by signing reigning Sixth Man of the Year Montrezl Harrell, lightning-rod point guard Dennis Schroder, and former Defensive Player of the Year Marc Gasol.
2. Milwaukee Bucks
The Bucks disappointed with a second-round exit last season, but the Jrue Holiday-Eric Bledsoe swap addressed a key need. Milwaukee gave Giannis Antetokounmpo another perimeter scorer who raises his game in crunch time. If only the Bogdan Bogdanovic deal didn’t fall through.
3. Los Angeles Clippers
Kawhi Leonard and Paul George are running it back after last season ended, like the Bucks, in the second round. The talent on this team is undeniable, but can they put it together over the course of an entire season? The Clippers improved one of the deepest rosters, adding Serge Ibaka, Luke Kennard and Nicolas Batum this offseason.
4. Brooklyn Nets
Year 1 of the Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving era in Brooklyn has begun, and the Nets are not shying away from their championship expectations. The Nets have more legitimate offensive weapons than most other teams and are focused on improving their defense. One thing’s for sure: If you’ve got Durant and Irving on your side, you’ve got as good a chance as anyone.
5. Miami Heat
Can’t forget about the defending Eastern Conference champions. The Heat, after all, did will their way to the NBA Finals last season and made it an interesting series, forcing LeBron’s Lakers into a Game 6. But was is a fluke, or is Miami really this good? The Heat beat the Bucks and Celtics to get to the Finals last season, and if they want to make it back, they’ll have to do it again. 6. Dallas Mavericks Luka Doncic has my vote to win the league’s Most Valuable Player of the Year this season, and if he wins it, that means he’ll be even better than he was when he defied basketball logic, one deep stepback three at a time. The weight of an entire Mavericks franchise rests on Doncic’s capable shoulders. No team should want to see Dallas in a seven-game series.
TIER 2 CONTENDERS
7. Denver Nuggets
8. Utah Jazz 9. Portland Trail Blazers
10. Toronto Raptors
11. Boston Celtics
12. Philadelphia 76ers
13. Washington Wizards
14. Phoenix Suns
This season’s playoff race is going to be much more competitive solely by virtue of most teams’ stars finally being fully healthy.
The Denver Nuggets, who made it to last year’s Western Conference Finals, may have lost Jerami Grant in free agency, but they get the early benefit of the doubt that a system run by Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic will compensate for what they lose from Grant’s departure.
The Utah Jazz took those Nuggets to seven games in the first round last season, and had Bojan Bogdanovic been healthy, it could have been the Jazz, not Nuggets, against the Lakers in the conference finals. And Damian Lillard could be another dark horse MVP candidate: He just might have the best supporting cast he’s had in his career.
Also, keep an eye on the Phoenix Suns: Devin Booker could soon be the best two guard in basketball, and there’s no better point guard to put alongside him than Chris Paul.
The East after the Bucks, Nets and Heat, is wide open for the remaining playoff spots. The Celtics are one team with an injured star: Kemba Walker is out until at least January with a knee condition. They will start lower on this ranking until they prove they can win big games without him, but are still a threat for a deep playoff run.
As are the Wizards, now that they’ve paired Bradley Beal and Russell Westbrook. The Raptors paid their young players and are always a threat, but losing both Ibaka and Gasol is a big blow. The Sixers roster is talented, but doesn’t make very much sense.
HATE TO SEE IT
15. Golden State Warriors
16. Houston Rockets
It’s impossible to assess these two teams. Stephen Curry and James Harden are two sure-fire Hall of Famers, each of whom are facing massive roadblocks.
For Curry, it’s out of his control: Klay Thompson is out for the season, the jury is out on whether Andrew Wiggins and Kelly Oubre Jr. can pick up the slack, and the rest of the West smells blood and is angling for a playoff spot.
For Harden, cue Magic Johnson’s last day with the Lakers: He’s not gonna be here. Harden’s unfulfilled trade request looms large, and it’s impossible to see a route to legitimate contention when a team’s best player has made it known he wants out, expeditiously.
PRETENDERS
17. Indiana Pacers 18. New Orleans Pelicans