Pre-season Power Rankings: Raptors rock solid

To be the best you’ve got to beat the best, and seeing how San Antonio is returning with the same roster that just won a championship, they’re still the best.

Now that the Donald Sterling debacle is 100 percent behind them, the Clippers can fully focus on basketball. All the pieces are in place for this team to win a championship, but will all the extra responsibility given to Doc Rivers overwhelm him and his very talented team?

You know the story. The best player in the world “came home,” they acquired Kevin Love for the only two Canadians to go first overall and once again the wine-and-gold will be dominating the East.

There’s a lot to like about the Warriors. The “Splash Brothers” are the NBA’s best backcourt and they return with the same personnel that propelled them to a top-three defensive rating last season. However, the looming shadow of an Andrew Bogut injury is always lurking, key off-season addition Shaun Livingston will likely miss the start of the season and if Steve Kerr is as good a coach as he was a GM then the Dubs may as well have kept Mark Jackson—and that isn’t good.

This ranking depends entirely on Derrick Rose staying healthy and playing like Derrick Rose again, but he’s back and that in itself should win the Central for Chicago. Throw in the addition of Pau Gasol and the fact that this team will probably boast the league’s best defence and you have yourself a true title contender.

There’s no doubt Portland can score (the team put up 108.3 points per 100 possessions last season, good for fifth best in the NBA) but the problem with this club remains on the defensive end. The Blazers were a bottom-half defensive team last season. If they can get into the upper half or—better yet—that upper third, then the rest of the league better fear the team from the Pacific Northwest.

Take a look at this season’s Dallas Mavericks and do a quick comparison with the 2011 championship team. See any similarities? Yes, that’s right, Tyson Chandler is back and they even got themselves a veteran former all-star starting point guard in Jameer Nelson, meaning they can move Monta Ellis to the two. If you’re looking for a championship sleeper, look no further.

The Grizzlies will once again likely have the dubious distinction of being the team playing at the slowest pace in the league—and they wouldn’t have it any other way. Defence and a bruising interior assault courtesy of Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol will carry this team into the post-season once again. With the return of Quincy Pondexter and the addition of three-point marksman Vince Carter there’s a chance they could go pretty deep.

After a disappointing first-round exit last season the Rockets went all-in on the free agent market, and ended up striking out on every one of their targets. Instead they ended up with a second-go-around with Trevor Ariza at a price higher than they would’ve liked and a pissed off Chandler Parsons who bolted after they opted to low-ball him. Ariza is a definite upgrade on defence, but the Rockets are really going to miss Parsons’s versatility.

As you’re probably already aware, reigning MVP Kevin Durant is likely out until early December with a foot injury, meaning it will be on Russell Westbrook, Serge Ibaka and coach Scott Brooks to keep the ship afloat. The two players will certainly do all they can to keep the Thunder in contention, but the real question mark comes from Brooks and his infuriating lack of offensive creativity. Now without his 30-points-per-game scorer he has to deliver or he may be gone.

Returning from a thrilling seven-game first-round playoff exit with the same roster and key off-season acquisition Lou Williams from the Atlanta Hawks, the Raptors should roll through their division and have a legitimate shot at 50 wins for the first time in franchise history. The biggest question mark surrounding this team is if it’s good enough to challenge the Cavaliers and Bulls for tops in the East.

The best team to not make the playoffs last season, the Suns could very well find themselves in that boat again playing in the tough Western Conference. Another situation to watch is the fact that they have three outstanding point guards in Goran Dragic, Eric Bledose and Isaiah Thomas. They also drafted Tyler Ennis, another point guard. Where is Jeff Hornacek going to find minutes for them all?

The injury to Bradley Beal could really hurt the Wizards’ chances in the early going as he’s the team’s best shooter and has natural chemistry with all-star point guard John Wall. Still, Washington did improve with the acquisition of Paul Pierce and should be considered a lock to win the Southeast even if they took a hit defensively in losing Trevor Ariza.

The entire season depends on if Brook Lopez is able to remain relatively healthy for its entirety. With Lionel Hollins on the bench now Brooklyn’s offence should be even more geared towards the 26-year-old, particularly because there’s a good chance that Deron Williams gets traded at the deadline as he has a player option for next season.

While Luol Deng is definitely no replacement for LeBron James, the Heat aren’t exactly dead in the water either. Two of Miami’s former Big Three are still there. Chris Bosh is a legitimate all-star big man and Dwyane Wade remains among the league’s best shooting guards. It’s true that Wade won’t play an entire season, but Miami won’t need that from him to make the playoffs.

It’s so good to see the Charlotte Hornets back, and man, how cool is the new logo and court design? Oh, and the team is pretty good, too. They’re an elite defensive club, Al Jefferson proved in the playoffs just how good he really is, Noah Vonleh is an exciting rookie and the Lance Stephenson signing should make them the East’s biggest sleeper.

On paper the Hawks are better than this ranking. However, after seeing how the Donald Sterling mess affected the Clippers, it’s hard not to think similar issues will arise with this club given the shameful situation that occurred in Atlanta’s front office.

The expression “greater than the sum of their parts” is the best way to describe Denver. Remember, this team is just two seasons removed from a memorable 57-win campaign with mostly the same ragtag group. Now that Danilo Galinari is back from injury, they could be ready to prove yet again that you don’t need a superstar to win in the NBA.

This was an off-season to forget for the Pacers. Paul George suffered a gruesome injury in Team USA camp and is likely done for the year, and Lance Stephenson left for Charlotte. The defence will still be there because that’s what Roy Hibbert does, but that’s only half of the game. Who’s going to score for what was already a bad offence with George and Stephenson in the lineup?

Fantasy basketball junkies take note: Anthony Davis will be the best fantasy player this season and should go first overall in drafts. As far as real basketball goes, this roster has some quality pieces—such as Omer Asik and Eric Gordon—but they’ve yet to show any signs of being able to come together and get wins.

Can Stan Van Gundy make the front line of Greg Monroe, Andre Drummond and Josh Smith work? Based on the fact that Monroe signed his one-year qualifying offer after hearing crickets out on the open market as a restricted free agent—making him juicy trade bait—and seeing how the new Pistons coach has experimented with him coming off the bench, the answer to that question is likely no.

In a somewhat surprising turn of events, Carmelo Anthony opted out of his deal and decided to re-sign with the Knicks for the five-year max. This is kind of shocking because he could’ve gone to a legit contender, and he also could’ve structured his contract so he can sign a new one in time for the new television money to kick in. Alas, Melo will be stuck in New York with new teammate Jose Calderon, wine-bath crazy Amare Stoudemire and new coach Derek Fisher—who will be trying to implement the famed triple-post offence (AKA the triangle).

Fresh off a FIBA World Cup gold medal, DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay are ready to play a full season together and inch the Kings closer to relevance. Unfortunately, losing Isaiah Thomas and replacing him with Darren Collison, and using back-to-back first rounders on Ben McLemore and Nik Stauskas—players who play the same position—will make that road to respectability difficult.

A lot of fun things to keep track of in Lala Land. New Lakers coach Byron Scott apparently doesn’t care that Kobe Bryant is coming off a major injury as he intends to run the aging superstar between 30–40 minutes a night. Meanwhile, the soon-to-be-retiring Steve Nash hurt his back carrying bags and new addition Jeremy Lin’s off-season Youtube work will hopefully create a Linsanity 2.0.

Expect the Celtics to be the focal point of a lot of trade discussion. Rajon Rondo’s deal is up at the end of this season and it would be foolish of Boston to not get anything for him, particularly when there are teams out there like the Knicks who have the big contracts to match and would love to add an all-star caliber point guard to their roster.

Is Gordon Hayward a max-contract level player? The Jazz were pretty much forced to say he is after Charlotte gave him that offer sheet during the off-season’s free-agent bonanza. Observing the way he responds to this big deal and unveiling the secrets of Australian rookie Dante Exum will pretty much be the only reasons to watch what will be a bad Utah team.

The Magic won’t be good, but boy will they be fun. Elfrid Payton could very well be rookie of the year and his candidacy will be bolstered by the fact that he’ll be able to throw lobs up to the likes of fellow rookie Aaron Gordon and promising sophomore Victor Oladipo, who will be able to move over to his natural shooting-guard position with Payton’s arrival. If you have League Pass, this team will definitely be worth checking out.

The Kevin Love trade wasn’t just transformative for the Cavaliers— the Timberwolves also appeared to make out well. Landing this year’s and last’s first-overall picks in Canadians Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett is as good a foundation as any, while Thaddeus Young will provide some much-needed veteran leadership. In addition, the team also drafted high-flyer Zach LaVine, one half of the newly dubbed “Bounce Brothers” along with Wiggins. If you like dunks, then pay attention to this team.

Last season Giannis Antetokounmpo turned heads with his incredible length and jaw-dropping athleticism. This season another Bucks rookie should be turning heads, with the only difference being everyone’s expecting him to. Duke standout Jabari Parker is the frontrunner to win rookie of the year because of his proven scoring ability, and should immediately give a lift to an otherwise dreadful-looking Bucks team.

Just like last season, the Sixers’ top draft pick is hurt and is looking like he’ll miss the entire season. Just like last season, the Sixers boast guys on their starting five that wouldn’t crack bench spots on good teams. Just like last season, the Sixers will be terrible. And just like last season, the Sixers are doing this all on purpose.