NBA 2010-11 Season: NBA Primetime's 'Opening Game' Power Rankings

NBAPrimetime's Brandon Ribak presents the "Opening Game" installment of his NBA 2010-11 Power Rankings.

Be sure to check out his Western Conference's Preseason Power Rankings and Eastern Conference's Preseason Power Rankings.

RK= Ranking

REC= Last season record
Team                                     RK                        REC         SUMMARY

	1	Lakers	57-25	The defending champs kick off the season on top of the NBA. The addition of Blake and Barnes will improve the teams bench, giving the Lakers an even better chance of three-peating.
	2	Celtics	50-32	A healthy KG, a 24-year-old Rondo, plus Allen, Pierce, and the offseason signings of both O'Neals place the reigning Eastern Conference champs one up on the Miami Heat.
	3	Heat	47-35	Chemistry and injuries are Miami's two major concerns entering the upcoming season. If LeBron, Wade and Bosh can put those worries to rest, expect the Heat to shoot up in the rankings.
	4	Magic	59-23	Unlike the East's other two powerhouse teams (Miami and Boston), the Magic had a rather quiet offseason. Don't be surprised if their roster looks quite different by the February trade deadline.
	5	Thunder	50-32	KD and Co. gave LA a major scare during the first round of the postseason, and they will certainly look to do so again. The teams young core should uplift the Thunder to a 50-plus win season.
	6	Jazz	53-29	D-Will will have his hands full feeding Jefferson and Millsap in the paint, but the team will have to start playing better on the road if they want a shot at the title.
	7	Mavericks	55-27	Dallas' roster always looks stacked on paper. Maybe this year that talent can translate into a NBA trophy.
	8	Spurs	50-32	Parker is back to full strength and Duncan still has enough in the tank to play efficiently and give his Spurs dynasty one last go.
	9	Trail Blazers	50-32	Portland fans know just how good this team can be, and this season the Blazers will finally prove it. Fingers are crossed for Oden to stay healthy.
	10	Bulls	41-41	Losing Boozer for a few months could cut into the amount of W's that Chicago was predicted to win when they first acquired the forward. Regardless, the team is young, well-coached and very, very talented.
	11	Bucks	46-36	The Bucks will have yet another successful season, but defeating any of the Eastern powerhouses is out of the question.
	12	Rockets	42-40	Yao's back, but he is only projected to play roughly 20 MPG. The combo of Aaron Brooks and Kevin Martin is very appealing, enough for them to be ranked as high as they currently are.
	13	Hawks	53-29	The Hawks must believe that Joe Johnson will take them far this season or they wouldn't have given him his $126 million contract, right?
	14	Nuggets	53-29	Melo is as good as gone by the trade deadline. Once a deal goes through the Nuggets will go from a top Western team to a thing of the past.
	15	Suns	54-28	Nash still has it and the offseason acquiring of Turkoglu, Childress and Warrick should help. But lets face it, Stoudemire was a major loss.
	16	Knicks	29-53	New York will put themselves back on the map this season once they make the playoffs for the first time in six years. A first-round exit should be considered a success, that's unless they acquire Melo midseason.
	17	Wizards	26-56	If you haven't hopped onto the John Wall bandwagon yet, then you definitely should. The combo of Wall and Arenas could prove to be deadly, but many questions arise regarding to the former Agent Zero.
	18	Grizzlies	40-42	Could an undefeated preseason be a sign of great things to come for Memphis? Probably not, but they definitely should be able to build upon last season's 40-42 performance.
	19	Clippers	29-53	Blake Griffin's beastly self added to a potential breakout season from Baron Davis could place the Clippers in position to compete for a playoff spot.
	20	Hornets	37-45	A healthy CP3 could bring any team to the postseason. Add Trevor Ariza and newly-acquired Jerryd Bayless to the mix and the Hornets already look destined for a bounce back year.
	21	Bobcats	44-38	Charlotte lost their starting point-guard and center this offseason. Forward Gerald Wallace posted career numbers last season, and most likely will never average 10-plus rebounds per game again.
	22	76ers	27-55	Jrue Holiday will enter the spotlight this season and Evan Turner should post solid numbers if all goes well. A playoff spot is possible, but unlikely.
	23	Pacers	32-50	Acquiring Darren Collison will undoubtedly help the Pacers snap out of their consecutive playoff absence, just not this season.
	24	Warriors	26-56	A backcourt filled with talent, plus a new frontcourt composed of one of the leagues top rebounders (plus a new head coach) will help the Warriors win five to 10 more games this season.
	25	Nets	12-70	The Nets are really a new team this season. They have a new coach, a new owner, a new starting power forward, and a potential monster in Derrick Favors.
	26	Pistons	15-67	Detroit battled tons of injuries last season. Their major investments in Ben Gordon and Charlie V should be able to pay (half) off this season, that's if they both can stay healthy.
	27	Kings	25-57	Sacramento got off to a hot start last season. The team is loaded with young talent, led by ROY Tyreke Evans. If all goes well, they should notch close to 40 wins this season.
	28	Timberwolves	15-67	Michael Beasley thinks Minnesota is the team to beat this season. If they can capture 20-plus wins this season, I'll consider it a successful year for the Wolves.
	29	Raptors	40-42	Losing Bosh drops Toronto to the bottom of the totem, along with the Cavaliers. Unless Bargnani can average close to 30 PPG (even then it probably won't help much), the Raptors are far from making another playoff appearance anytime soon.
	30	Cavaliers	61-21	Cleveland will attempt to move on from the LeBron-era. Appearing in just two national games this season will make the Cavaliers less popular than a high-school girls volleyball team.