InsideHoop's Updated Power Rankings

[LakerMania]

NBA TEAM POWER RANKINGS Updated July 29, 2002
NBA Power Rankings
By InsideHoops.com





Last updated July 29, 2002.

Note: these rankings were done right in the middle of free agency. There are still a million question marks around the league. We'll update the rankings again sometime in August.
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1) Los Angeles Lakers - Shaq, Kobe, and a supporting cast who can shoot and defend is trouble come postseason.

2) Sacramento Kings - league's most talented team, almost upset the Lakers, and could finally do it this year.

3) Dallas Mavericks - all offense, lacking defense.

4) New Jersey Nets - best in the East.

5) Boston Celtics - lost Kenny Anderson, which will hurt since he was a key contributor, but they hope his loss won't matter thanks to new low-post offense from Vin Baker.

6) San Antonio Spurs - Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and little else.

7) Portland Trail Blazers - hit or miss, depending on the week and their mood. Still a loaded roster that improved last season as time went on.

Detroit Pistons - Adding Chauncey Billups seems perfect. Still need to take rebounding pressure off of Ben Wallace's shoulders.

9) Milwaukee Bucks - last season was ruined by injury. Lack of chemistry didn't help, either. Hopefully this year they're healthy and playing with a chip on their shoulders. Added size should help.

10) Minnesota Timberwolves - not over the hump in the West. Billups is gone, and Terrell Brandon may never be the same. Kevin Garnett and Wally Szczerbiak need one more guy, and better role players.

11) Indiana Pacers - extremely young (not including Reggie Miller), talented and deep. The time to rise is now.

12) Charlotte Hornets - always good, never great. Off to N'awlins. The key right now is making Baron Davis want to stay and feel good about it.

13) Orlando Magic - still need big tough strong guys up front. If Grant Hill stays healthy and regains most of his past skills, he and McGrady could be unstoppable and this team rises fast in these rankings. Though, not adding a Charles Oakley type is just plain weird.

14) Los Angeles Clippers - just need time to grow. Must re-sign Michael Olowokandi this summer, or at least get him to play out one more year and figure something out soon. A healthy Lamar Odom should flourish next to Elton Brand.

15) Philadelphia 76ers - tough to say where these guys stand now. Derrick Coleman and Dikembe Mutumbo are aging fast. Allen Iverson is awesome but his field goal percentage remains low. Instead of adding a shooter or offensive help, they added yet another defender in Greg Buckner.

16) Toronto Raptors - loss of Keon Clark hurts. With Vince Carter back, is the team basically where they were a year ago, minus Clark's help and with Hakeem Olajuwon even older?

17) Phoenix Suns - hoping that Amare Stoudemire is ready to contribute immediately. This team needs big inside guys who can defend, rebound, and perhaps even post up. It may be asking a lot for Amare to help with that so early, considering he's barely old enough to see PG-13 movies.

1 Miami Heat - will Caron Butler help launch these guys higher? Possibly.

19) Utah Jazz - slowly sinking. Must gather young talent.

20) Houston Rockets - we'll wait until Yao Ming is actually with the team before factoring him in.

21) New York Knicks - assuming Antonio McDyess regains full health, the team should be on the playoff bubble in the East. Also, we're waiting to see how they do in free agency before bumping them higher.

22) Atlanta Hawks - on paper, they should be better than this. We'll wait and see.

23) Seattle Sonics - what direction is this team taking? Better sign Rashard Lewis.

24) Chicago Bulls - on paper, this team could be pretty competitive in the East. And if Tyson Chandler emerges as a star, they should fly up the rankings quickly. However, we're not yet ready to bump them up at this time. Maybe in the August rankings update.

25) Washington Wizards - Michael Jordan's minutes and effectiveness may be limited. Can the rookies join Richard Hamilton and carry this team? We can't rank them higher until we know what's up with Mike.

26) Golden State Warriors - had a nice off-season, may start off slow, but should finally show flashes of potential provided Mike Dunleavy is the real deal. Also, Jason Richardson has potential to erupt. But we'll be responsible and wait for it to happen before bumping them higher.

27) Memphis Grizzlies - still growing. Keep adding talented young players. Jerry West runs this show now.

2 Denver Nuggets - making all the right moves, gathering young talent and clearing incredible amounts of cap space. This team is in a great position to load up the roster with talent starting next year.

29) Cleveland Cavaliers - if you guys want direction and a bright future, click "Contact us" and hire Jeff Lenchiner, an NBA guru, the Inside Hoops founder, and a guy who understands how to build a winner, as your new general manager.[b]



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Hmmmmm, NJ and Boston ahead of SA?




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