Purpleandblues NBA Power Rankings: Pre-Training Camp Edition

Jun 20, 2013; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Heat shooting guard Dwyane Wade (left), LeBron James (center) and Chris Bosh (right) celebrate after game seven in the 2013 NBA Finals at American Airlines Arena. Miami defeated the San Antonio Spurs 95-88 to win the NBA Championship. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

We’re a week or so into August and have hit a wall as far as NBA news and excitement goes.  The season ended, we had the NBA draft and the free agency period has run its course for the most part.  With very little news or anything going on I decided to put up some Power Rankings for the 2013-14 season now that we’ve seen what teams have decided to do with their off-season.

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We can’t dethrone the champs before the season starts.  They’re still the best team in the league anyways.

2

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Western Conference champs so I put them at number 2.  Personally I don’t think they’re the best team in the West anymore since the offseason.

3

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No other team in the league can say they are starting 5 all-stars.  We haven’t seen them play yet but the moves that were made this offseason have to make them contenders.

4

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Very strong offseason for a team that was already good enough to make the Western Conference Finals.  If Memphis didn’t own them down low things could have been very different.

5

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Still one of the best teams in the league but they lost Kevin Martin.  Hopefully Steven Adams turns into a player or they will have basically nothing to show for the James Harden trade.

6

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Getting Derrick Rose back to this team will be huge.  He’ll be ready starting day one and the Bull should be a threat to win the Eastern Conference this season.

7

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Solid team that keeps getting more experience.  The Pacers seem to be that pesky team that grinds games out and beats you in the end.  Don’t expect anything different this season.

8

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Stephen Curry wasn’t an all-star???  Probably the biggest miss for the all-star team in history.  Adding Iggy to the mix will be big for this team.  They’ll be fun to watch.

9

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Memphis is still the same team they were last season and the problem is that everyone in the West seemed to get better.  Memphis just ended up fitting in here.

10

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I think this team could make some real noise if Dwight Howard plays like the player he was in Orlando.  The Rockets look as though they will be really good for a long time.

11

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The only reason I have the Knicks at 11 is because they have Carmelo Anthony, J. R. Smith and Amar’e Stoudemire.  They still can’t play defense and Bargnani won’t help that.

12

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Josh Smith, Chauncey Billups, Andre Drummond, Greg Monroe and Brandon Jennings.  I think this team could make some serious noise this coming season.

13

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Pretty good moves that Hawks made this offseason so I put them in the middle of the Eastern Conference.  The deal they got for Millsap was an absolute steal.

14

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The Nuggets lost Iggy and the management changed around a lot.  Still they have a solid team that should make the playoffs if they don’t have major injuries.

15

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16

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If Andrew Bynum suits up this season and is close to the player he was a few years ago then this team is playoff bound.  Crazy but Kyrie Irving is one of the top 5 PG in the NBA.

17

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18

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I would have loved to put the Lakers in the bottom 10 on this list but they still have Nash, Gasol and Kobe.  It sounds like Kobe will be playing very close to the season opener.

19

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Not really sure what direction Dallas is going in.  They aren’t trying to rebuild but they can’t seem to put a great roster together.  Dirk still makes them a dangerous team.

20

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Losing Jefferson and Millsap, despite what people think, was a great thing for this team.  People might wonder who is even on this roster right now but they’ll get to know them very soon.

21

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This team looks a lot better on paper then it did a year or so ago.  I like the moves they made and they are definitely one of the up and coming teams if the young players reach their potential.

22

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The Bucks brought in a bunch of guys to help keep them fighting for a playoff spot but losing Jennings is going to kill this team.  I think they’re going to have a rough season ahead of them.

23

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Team is getting better slowly but surely.  The Wizards being in the Eastern Conference gives them a chance to make the playoffs if they can put a decent season together.

24

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Ben McLemore could be a very good NBA player but I still don’t see this being a playoff team in the Western Conference.  Cousins is a lot better than he gets credit for.

25

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Rudy Gay, DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry on this team make me think they’ll be better then this but for some reason I feel like they’ll still be a bad team.  Maybe they’ll prove me wrong.

26

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Can’t ever remember the Bobcats being good.  Al Jefferson is going to provide lots of offense but defensively is going to help them stay bad.  Maybe they should change their name sooner.

27

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When the players that got you a championship ring you can’t expect to be too good.  Haven’t heard when Rondo will be back but he’s the only player they really have to build around now.

28

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76ers made a big draft day trade.  New coach and a lot of new faces.  I’m not sure really what to make of this team but I don’t see them being a very good team this season.

29

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Getting Oladipo was a great pick for this team but their roster still needs work.  They are probably really banking on snagging an all-star in next years loaded draft.

30

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Phoenix is going to struggle this season.  Really like the hiring of Jeff Hornacek as it was just a matter of time before he got a head coaching job.  He’ll change the culture in Phoenix.

NBA Team Logos provided by http://www.sportslogos.net/teams/list_by_league/6