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2009 Power Ranking

Updated: 4/15/10 4:00 am

  Change Team Record Comment
1.Cleveland Cavaliers61-21 The King has led the Cavs to home court advantage throughout the playoffs, but for them to get their ultimate goal the return of Shaquille O'Neal and his efforts on the pick and roll are essential to beat nemisis Magic and Lakers
2. +4Orlando Magic59-23The Magic are actually in better shape than last season as they have a healthy Jameer Nelson and home court advantage in Finals matchup
3. -1Los Angeles Lakers57-25Lakers play in the tougher division and still have the best record out west, yet they have major injuries and chemistry concerns: Bynum and Kobe are coming back (but will they perform as well as in the past) injuries to Farmar and Walton make bench even w
4. +3Dallas Mavericks55-27Donnie Nelson made great moves all season, first by drafting Beaubois late, then with the acquisition of Butler and Haywood making this team tougher. This is a championship caliber roster
5. +6Phoenix Suns54-28After trade deadline Suns have played the best team ball; led by A'mre and Nash, the Suns get valubable contributions from Hill and J-Rich but also Dudley, Dragic, Frye and Amundson. Best bench in the NBA
6. -2Denver Nuggets53-29Picking Denver over Atl. because of veteran leadership of Carmelo and Billups. The possible rematch of Denver-Lakers seires in 2nd round is only intriguing with healthy Karl and K-Mart
7. +3Utah Jazz 53-29Deron Williams is a load to guard in a 7 game series but the injury to Boozer and there road record are a concern now that they are the 5th seed out west
8. -3Atlanta Hawks53-29Have the Hawks taken the next step? Jamal Crawford was a steal from GSW. Team needs to advance past 2nd round to go to next level of NBA elite.
9. -6Boston Celtics50-32Oh how the mighty have fallen. This will be the first time since their championship run that their core is healthy. House, Brown, and Powe are gone and Sheed and Robinson have taken their place with little success. Ainge is hoping a playoff run will ch
10. -2San Antonio Spurs50-32Manu is back and Duncan looks good when he does not play back to back games. The return to health and form for Parker and Hill will be key against the Mavs
11. -2Portland Trail Blazers50-32Addition of Camby was great but loss of Roy hurts. Considering all injuries this team actually overachieved. Batum becomes the key X-factor for team to move on.
12. +1Oklahoma City Thunder 50-32The biggest pleasant surprise fo the regular season. Durant and Westrbook can create havoc to the Lakers, but they are one big man away from being a true contender
13. +4Miami Heat47-35D-Wade and Haslem were once important pieces to a championship run. Not sure that rest of squad understands what it takes, but 1st round match up with Celtics is the
14. +7Milwaukee Bucks46-36Bogut injury killed the teams chances, but Jennings will have one big game that will remind lottery bound fans on how their GM passed on him
15. +3Charlotte Bobcats44-38Capt. Jack, Gerald Wallace,and Larry Brown this team is volatile. It can be the surprise of the playoffs or self destruct and get swept. Congrats on 1st playoff appearance in franchise history though
16. +3Chicago Bulls41-41Loss of Gordon and Salmons makes playoff appearance an achievement. D.Rose and Noah have fight in them, so does apparently the Paxson and Del Negro
17. -5Houston Rockets42-40Barely missed playoffs while rebuilding team. Return of Yao and Scola are key. Emergence of Brooks was great, return of confidence of Martin would be better
18. -4Memphis Grizzlies40-42Probably would be over .500 if they had never had AI. PG was a need last off season and letting Evans, Curry, and Jennings slip might have cost them a chance to be in the playoffs this season
19. -3Toronto Raptors40-43Calderon and Hedo regressed this season. Now that they missed playoffs will Colangelo regret not trading Bosh for future pieces?
20. -5New Orleans Hornets 37-45Paul was out a big chunk of the season. Thorton and Collison were steals in draft. Decisions need to be made on who is the coach and who is the GM no need for Dunleavy part 2
21. -1Los Angeles Clippers29-53Future looks clearer as with the return of Blake Griffin and another top 10 pick in 2010 draft. They need a coach that can motivate Baron and need Gordon to emerge as their best player next season
22. +2Indiana Pacers32-50Indiana needs to strike gold and win the lottery. Granger and Hibbert should stay but is there another player that is an key part of their future?
23.New York Knicks29-53Jennings should have gone to the Knicks; that being said last 2 years of horrible basketball hinges on the off-season acquisitions. Not sure Knicks fans expect anything less than the Yankee standards
24. +3Philadelphia 76ers27-55Old AI returned to play with current AI but they still stunk. Brand contract was not good for franchise and it might cost GM his job.
25. +1Detroit Pistons27-55Dumars had a bad offseason: Daye promise in draft at 15 and sigining of Gordon and Villanueva. History tells us Dumars does better with late round picks but poor in lottery. In other news Darko is finally contributing for the T-Wolves
26. -1Golden State Warriors26-56Good news is that Curry was a top 5 pick and GSW got him at 8. Bad news is that even bay area beat writers are questioning if Monta and him can co-exist. Love their D-league gems but has Nellie developed a low post talent in his 30 years of coaching?
27. -5Sacramento Kings 25-57Tyreke, Landry and Thompson can play but none of them have a true psotion, they are hybrids in that situation you might want to have a pass first type of PG.
28. +2New Jersey Nets12-70They played better as season progressed and have cap space and young talent coming in. Lopez and Harris can start on a future playoff team.
29.Minnesota Timberwolves 15-67T-Wolves had 2 chances to draft Curry or Jennings and passed. As good as Rubio can become not sure that they would not want to rewind on their thought process. Brewer actually became an NBA player this season and there was a Darko sighting.
30. -2Washington Wizards26-56Last year this time we were wondering how Arenas was going to rehab his knee. This week he was moved from jail to a halfway house. Wizards went for it this season trading their pick for Foye and Miller. They gambled and lost now Butler & Jamison are go