Welcome to the very first installment of BTA's NBA Power Rankings, as we head into preseason, many of the major deals have been finalized, and teams are beginning to discover their true identities, making sure they are in a strong position to win games this season.
Some teams are in rebuilding mode, some teams are playoff bound, and some players are in strong contention for the Championship.
1. LA Lakers
The Lakers have lost Trevor Ariza (overrated) and added Ron Artest (under-appreciated). They also managed to re-sign Lamar Odom. Therefore, with their core still intact and significantly improved, how can you not rate the defending champions No. 1 at this point in time?
2. Boston
If there's one team that has a chip on its shoulder, it's the veteran Boston Celtics, lead by their vocal captain, Paul Pierce. He openly stated how focused this team is heading into the 2009-10 season, and how mentally prepared they are.
Danny Ainge gave the Big Three exactly what they needed—reliable support off the bench. With the signings of Rasheed Wallace, Marquis Daniels, and the re-signing of Glen Davis, the Celtics look stronger than ever.
What seperates this team from the Magic and Cavs is its team chemistry; there are absolutely no question marks regarding team chemistry after their offseason acquisitions, while the Cavs and Magic have a lot to prove in terms of how they plan on implementing their new arrivals into their lineup and team strategy.
The Celtics are built on defense, but more importantly, they are built on a tradition that has lasted over 60 years—winning, which they look to do this season.
3. Orlando
The silver winners of this past season arguably improved more than the Lakers so far this offseason. Is it enough to overcome the Lakers right now? No. But I like the moves they've made overall.
They gave away a couple of nice pieces in Courtney Lee and Rafer Alston, but made out big by acquiring Vince Carter and Ryan Andersen. The latter of the two guys coming in from that trade is especially intriguing, since he still has the potential to be a nice role player.
Overall, despite taking on a tremendous amount of salary in the deal, they still came out on top. And the signing of Brandon Bass was a big pickup for them, as well. He'll add some much-needed interior defense to take the pressure off of Dwight Howard and to limit any Howard and Gortat pairings.
Speaking of Gortat, I'm not sure what Orlando was thinking when the re-signed him to an outrageous contract. Sure, the guy comes in and plays some nice spot minutes. But despite his great rebounding ability and potentially nice offensive capability, he's extremely foul prone.
I don't blame Dallas for taking a risk by signing him to an offer sheet, because they really need better interior defense. But why would Orlando bring a now-disgruntled player back at that price just to have him come off the bench? That boggles my mind.
And I don't buy the idea that they'll trade him later on to get value for him. If he barely plays, who's going to offer Orlando a pretty penny to trade for the guy? Bad move, in my opinion.
What Orlando should have done was send in Dwight Howard, Vince Carter, and Rashard Lewis to Rasheed Wallace's doorstep right after the Celtics' Big Three came knocking to tell him that he can win a championship just as easily as he could in Boston.
In any case, the one last point I'd like to make about Orlando is that moving Rashard Lewis back to the 3 is going to pay off big for them. They have arguably the best starting lineup in the NBA right now with Nelson/Carter/Lewis/Bass/Howard.
But their bench is just decent and they lack any really good perimeter shooters beyond Carter and Lewis. You could make the argument that Pietrus is a decent shooter off the bench, but he doesn't exactly shoot lights out that often. Still, Orlando is a dangerous team to watch out for next season.
4. Cleveland
They turned Ben Wallace and change into Shaq. Now that's a fantastic move. Even if Shaq doesn't pan out for them—which I think he probably will—they now have 20 million dollars coming off their cap that could potentially allow them not only to keep Lebron in 2010, but to add another big name player (not named Shaq) to their roster.
Adding Shaq to a half-court system should give Cleveland enough inside/outside game to make them significantly better than last year. However, their backcourt still leaves a great deal to be desired.
While I love the Anthony Parker pickup, he's not exactly the perimeter shooter they need to take the pres
Some teams are in rebuilding mode, some teams are playoff bound, and some players are in strong contention for the Championship.
1. LA Lakers
The Lakers have lost Trevor Ariza (overrated) and added Ron Artest (under-appreciated). They also managed to re-sign Lamar Odom. Therefore, with their core still intact and significantly improved, how can you not rate the defending champions No. 1 at this point in time?
2. Boston
If there's one team that has a chip on its shoulder, it's the veteran Boston Celtics, lead by their vocal captain, Paul Pierce. He openly stated how focused this team is heading into the 2009-10 season, and how mentally prepared they are.
Danny Ainge gave the Big Three exactly what they needed—reliable support off the bench. With the signings of Rasheed Wallace, Marquis Daniels, and the re-signing of Glen Davis, the Celtics look stronger than ever.
What seperates this team from the Magic and Cavs is its team chemistry; there are absolutely no question marks regarding team chemistry after their offseason acquisitions, while the Cavs and Magic have a lot to prove in terms of how they plan on implementing their new arrivals into their lineup and team strategy.
The Celtics are built on defense, but more importantly, they are built on a tradition that has lasted over 60 years—winning, which they look to do this season.
3. Orlando
The silver winners of this past season arguably improved more than the Lakers so far this offseason. Is it enough to overcome the Lakers right now? No. But I like the moves they've made overall.
They gave away a couple of nice pieces in Courtney Lee and Rafer Alston, but made out big by acquiring Vince Carter and Ryan Andersen. The latter of the two guys coming in from that trade is especially intriguing, since he still has the potential to be a nice role player.
Overall, despite taking on a tremendous amount of salary in the deal, they still came out on top. And the signing of Brandon Bass was a big pickup for them, as well. He'll add some much-needed interior defense to take the pressure off of Dwight Howard and to limit any Howard and Gortat pairings.
Speaking of Gortat, I'm not sure what Orlando was thinking when the re-signed him to an outrageous contract. Sure, the guy comes in and plays some nice spot minutes. But despite his great rebounding ability and potentially nice offensive capability, he's extremely foul prone.
I don't blame Dallas for taking a risk by signing him to an offer sheet, because they really need better interior defense. But why would Orlando bring a now-disgruntled player back at that price just to have him come off the bench? That boggles my mind.
And I don't buy the idea that they'll trade him later on to get value for him. If he barely plays, who's going to offer Orlando a pretty penny to trade for the guy? Bad move, in my opinion.
What Orlando should have done was send in Dwight Howard, Vince Carter, and Rashard Lewis to Rasheed Wallace's doorstep right after the Celtics' Big Three came knocking to tell him that he can win a championship just as easily as he could in Boston.
In any case, the one last point I'd like to make about Orlando is that moving Rashard Lewis back to the 3 is going to pay off big for them. They have arguably the best starting lineup in the NBA right now with Nelson/Carter/Lewis/Bass/Howard.
But their bench is just decent and they lack any really good perimeter shooters beyond Carter and Lewis. You could make the argument that Pietrus is a decent shooter off the bench, but he doesn't exactly shoot lights out that often. Still, Orlando is a dangerous team to watch out for next season.
4. Cleveland
They turned Ben Wallace and change into Shaq. Now that's a fantastic move. Even if Shaq doesn't pan out for them—which I think he probably will—they now have 20 million dollars coming off their cap that could potentially allow them not only to keep Lebron in 2010, but to add another big name player (not named Shaq) to their roster.
Adding Shaq to a half-court system should give Cleveland enough inside/outside game to make them significantly better than last year. However, their backcourt still leaves a great deal to be desired.
While I love the Anthony Parker pickup, he's not exactly the perimeter shooter they need to take the pres
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