NBA Power Rankings for 2009-10

NBA Regular begins today.

The Lakers and Cavaliers made big moves this off season in an effort to pave the way to America's dream NBA matchup -- a Kobe Bryant vs. LeBron James showdown in the NBA Finals.

The Lakers rushed out and hog-tied Ron Artest almost immediately after losing vastly underrated Trevor Ariza to free agency. Its hard to comprehend why the Lakes brought in Artest instead of keeping Ariza who is a better complement to Bryant’s style of play.

Likewise, the Cavs opted for the big name over the big picture when they acquired Shaquille O'Neal from the Suns in exchange for little more than some old sneakers.

One of the NBA's greatest offensive forces of all time, O'Neal was brought in to give the Cavs greater resistance to Orlando's one-man wrecking crew, Dwight Howard.

O’Neal is older and his knees won’t take a full NBA season, but if he keeps fresh until the playoffs and sees a chance at beating Kobe in the NBA Finals, he will carry LeBron and the Cavs team to the finals.

Other cities can be hopeful of their chances for NBA Finals victories... in Boston, Orlando and San Antonio.

Here are my season-opening NBA Power Rankings for 2009-10:

1. Lakers: Phil Jackson may have to put the next ring on his toe but can he deal with the egos Kobe and Artest
2. Celtics: if they stay healthy they are the only team who can give LA a headache.
3. Cavaliers: LeBron + Shaq = Championship?
4. Magic: The loss of Hedo Turkoglu makes them take a step back.
5. Spurs: Might be the strongest starting line-up in the NBA if Manu and Duncan can stay healthy with Parker and Jefferson.
6. Nuggets: as long they have Chauncey Billups they are playoff team. It doesn’t matter if they didn't make any major moves in the offseason.
7. Mavericks: adding Marion to the team was a pretty smart move, but this team hasn’t been the same since Mark Cuban let Steve Nash walk away. They would of won a couple of championships if they had kept him, now neither Cuban or Nash will.
8. Trailblazers: Oden has played with intensity thru the pre-season, dare I say Howard-esque?
9. Jazz: this young team is only going to get better.
10. Hawks: they could be higher if Boston, Orlando or Cleveland were not around.
11. Bulls: after Ben Gordon loss this is officially Derrick Rose’s team.
12. Hornets: the best player in the league now add new sheriffs Darren Sharper, Emeka Okafor; out with old saying, "There's no D in New Orleans."
13. Suns: Shaq is gone, fast fun Suns are back.
14. Raptors: Turkoglu, Andrea Bargnani, and Jose Calderon…Euro-ball.
15. Rockets: their defense will continue to be outstanding. The big question can they win with T-Mac but without Yao?
16. Heat: D Wade was amazing last season but still he is still the lone wolf.
17. 76ers: Elton Brand is back but Andre Miller is gone, the lack of a talented point guard may hurt them at some point in the season.
18. Pistons: Hamilton and the new acquisitions Gordon and Villanueva will handle the points on this team but who is going to distribute the ball for them?
19. Wizards: with Arenas at full strength they have a playoff team.
20. Clippers: The Clipper Curse continues, #1 pick Griffin is out with a broken knee cap.
21. Thunder: even with Durant they are still a couple of years away from being a playoff team.
22. Bobcats: I’ll bet Larry Brown will somehow make this team competitive.
23. Warriors: they a solid in many spots but Randolph and Curry need to shine and develop.
24. Pacers: I can’t remember how but they did beat the Celtics, Lakers, Cavaliers and Magic last year, it seem to me they will be that team that nobody wants to play.
25. Knicks: with seven players in the last year of their contract, another losing season is in the short future and they might find themselves building a team around Lebron.
26. Nets: They were bad with Vince Carter, without him is going to get really ugly.
27. Bucks: is Michael Reed a miracle maker? I don’t think so.
28. Grizzlies: Iverson is not Memphis’ Answer.
29. Timberwolves: Al Jefferson can’t score 60 points a night.
30. Kings: do you realize the only time we heard about the Kings was when Francisco Garcia suffered a wrist injury after a workout ball exploded? Not a good sign.