After a long and winding road between the NBA’s hiatus in March until the Orlando bubble, the league experienced a complete frenzy. First, the 2019-20 regular season came to an end in bizarre fashion with seeding games, then NBA observers enjoyed a fast-paced, offense-driven explosion in the first round, with high drama in the latter stages and the Los Angeles Lakers eventually claiming a memorable title under anything but normal circumstances.
When the dust settled, there wasn’t much of an offseason, with the league zooming to the draft and free agency just weeks after the final buzzer sounded at Walt Disney World. Now, the preseason is over and, fewer than three months after the Lakers hoisted the Larry O’Brien Trophy, opening night of the 2020-21 regular season arrives on Tuesday with a much-anticipated double-header.
Each week, we will weigh in with DIME power rankings, tracking the progress of each of the league’s 30 teams by what they have done both in the previous week and overall. In the preseason version, however, results aren’t available, and we are left to simply prognosticate with the equivalent of regular season projections.
One team has to be at the top. One team has to be at the bottom. 28 others are in the middle. In “Week Zero,” here is the list, with a no-brainer in the No. 1 slot.
1. Los Angeles Lakers (n/a, Last week — n/a)
The Lakers are the champs, and the champs would probably start at No. 1 even if they weren’t the best team in the league. Fortunately for Lakers fans, Los Angeles is still the cream of the crop on paper. It helps to have LeBron James and Anthony Davis, but the Lakers also have quality depth and, well, we’ve already seen them win the title with this group.
2. L.A. Clippers (n/a, Last week — n/a)
Yes, the Clippers had a disastrous end to the 2019-20 season, blowing a 3-1 lead to the Nuggets. No, that doesn’t mean the Clippers are going to be bad this season. In fact, L.A. is now underrated because of that ill-fated three-game stretch, and the Clippers are perhaps better set-up for playoff success with Serge Ibaka and Luke Kennard on board. I’m buying the talent, and the Clippers were terrifying in 2019-20… until they weren’t.
3. Milwaukee Bucks (n/a, Last week — n/a)
Much like the Clippers, the Bucks flamed out last season and the jokes were flying as a result. Milwaukee earned their lot with a dreadful performance against Miami and, once again, the Bucks will be charged with figuring things out on the biggest stage. However, the Bucks are a proven regular season entity and they should win a lot of games again this season, this time with Jrue Holiday on board.
4. Miami Heat (n/a, Last week — n/a)
The Heat just beat the Bucks in a playoff series. We all watched it. At the same time, Miami isn’t better than Milwaukee on paper, and their preseason over/under is (significantly) lower than that of the Bucks. We’ll see how the Heat respond to a non-bubble setting, but they should be good, and you have to give them respect for what we saw the last time they were playing.
5. Denver Nuggets (n/a, Last week — n/a)
Denver is, once again, very interesting. Nikola Jokic is a star. Jamal Murray looked like a star in the bubble. Michael Porter Jr. is a player that almost everyone believes can be a star. Almost more importantly, the Nuggets have a winning infrastructure, and they are largely bringing the band back, with the exception of Jerami Grant being in Detroit.
6. Boston Celtics (n/a, Last week — n/a)
This is a bet on infrastructure. The Celtics are certainly worse on paper right now than they were last season, especially when taking into account the injury to Kemba Walker. Gordon Hayward’s absence is manageable, but the Celtics will need a lot of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart.
7. Brooklyn Nets (n/a, Last week — n/a)
Who knows? Kevin Durant looks great in the preseason and Kyrie Irving is very good when he’s right. Still, the Nets don’t have much defensive talent, and they are relying on two players with recent injury questions. They should be dynamic offensively when everyone is available, and they have upside as a result, but the baseline is tough to pin down.
8. Philadelphia 76ers (n/a, Last week — n/a)
There is a reason Philly is right next to Brooklyn. Granted, the 76ers do have their top two guys returning in Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, and Tobias Harris is back as a solid, albeit highly paid, forward. Philadelphia invested in shooting and roster balance, and we’ll see if it pays dividends when compared to a potential downgrade on defense.
9. Utah Jazz (n/a, Last week — n/a)
The Jazz finished ninth in net rating last season, and they are ninth here. This is a good basketball team, with pillars in Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell. Utah could be even better given the depth they brought in with Derrick Favors, especially if Jordan Clarkson can replicate what was a very strong performance from 2019-20.
10. Dallas Mavericks (n/a, Last week — n/a)
In some circles, Luka Doncic is the betting favorite to win the MVP award. Dallas will need to be better than 10th in this space for that to happen, but the Mavericks did have the best offense in the league last season. Even if they don’t improve on a per-possession basis, the Mavericks should win more games, if only because they were so dreadful in the clutch last season. It will be interesting to see how they can hold the line until Kristaps Porzingis is back.
11. Toronto Raptors (n/a, Last week — n/a)
We’re in danger of disrespecting Kyle Lowry and Nick Nurse with this ranking, which is a bad idea. The Raptors are worse on paper after losing Serge Ibaka and Marc Gasol, but they retained Fred VanVleet, made solid moves on the margins (including Aron Baynes and Alex Len), and Toronto’s internal development structure should be beneficial.
12. Phoenix Suns (n/a, Last week — n/a)
Phoenix was a fantastic story in the bubble. They weren’t that team before the bubble, but concerns about over-achievement are mitigated by the addition of Chris Paul. Paul was one of the 15 best players in the league last season and, even if he can’t do that again, he’ll help in a lot of ways. Plus, the Suns are really, really talented with young players like Devin Booker, Deandre Ayton and Mikal Bridges.
13. Portland Trail Blazers (n/a, Last week — n/a)
The Blazers have big-time supporters nationally right now, and it is easy to see why after adding Robert Covington and Derrick Jones Jr., as well as the projection of Jusuf Nurkic for a full season. I will simply remind you that Portland went 35-39 in the regular season in 2019-20, finished as a bottom-five defense and was outscored for the season. They have to be a lot better to crash the top half of the West.
14. Houston Rockets (n/a, Last week — n/a)
It is impossible to project the Rockets. If James Harden is there, Houston will be a top-10 offense, simply because he’s that good. The rest of the roster is less certain, but PJ Tucker and Eric Gordon are solid, John Wall looked alright in the preseason, and Christian Wood is a mega-talent. It all comes down to Harden and, if they deal him, what the package is in return.
15. Golden State Warriors (n/a, Last week — n/a)
Steph Curry is back. Draymond Green should be more invested. Kelly Oubre is pretty good. Your guess is as good as mine, but if Curry is Curry, they won’t be bad.
16. Atlanta Hawks (n/a, Last week — n/a)
Don’t look now, but the Hawks added three quality, starting-caliber players… without losing anything. That is pretty tough to do in the modern NBA but, if you count Clint Capela (who was injured on arrival in February), Atlanta pulled it off with the signings of Danilo Gallinari and Bogdan Bogdanovic. From a talent standpoint, this is a team with five top-100 players, including Trae Young and John Collins, and they have real depth. The question is whether they can fit all the pieces together and translate it into wins.
17. Indiana Pacers (n/a, Last week — n/a)
The Pacers finished sixth in the league in defensive rating last season and, if you look at their roster, that feels (quite) high. Indiana also has a new coaching staff and Victor Oladipo remains a giant unknown. This may be too low on Indiana if they can find a top-10 defense again, but injuries and roster questions abound.
18. New Orleans Pelicans (n/a, Last week — n/a)
This is a very weird team right now. Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram are very good, but they overhauled a lot with the Jrue Holiday trade and committed to Steven Adams at the five. Is Eric Bledsoe the guy at the lead guard? What is Lonzo Ball’s role in a contract year? Can the Pelicans defend? I have many questions, but they are talented.
19. Washington Wizards (n/a, Last week — n/a)
Can the Wizards ever get a stop? That is the biggest question (from a basketball standpoint) in the nation’s capital right now. Washington was really good on offense at times last season, and Russell Westbrook should help when surrounded by enough shooting. The Wizards were genuinely horrendous on defense in 2019-20, however, and they didn’t do much to fix that.
20. San Antonio Spurs (n/a, Last week — n/a)
Derrick White is a much wealthier man after Monday’s extension, and he also might hold the keys to how good the Spurs are this season. If White is the player from the bubble, he could be San Antonio’s best player this season. If he’s the guy from before the bubble, San Antonio’s ceiling is less impressive, and the Spurs may be more reliant on DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge. This is definitely a team in transition from a roster perspective, but Gregg Popovich commands respect for keeping this team in solid position.
21. Orlando Magic (n/a, Last week — n/a)
Can Steve Clifford do it again? Orlando’s talent level is not impressive at all, and even more so with Jonathan Isaac sidelined with injury. The Magic have figured it out in the past, though, and they do have experience and roster consistency.
22. Memphis Grizzlies (n/a, Last week — n/a)
This might feel low, and I get it. At the same time, Memphis didn’t take a swing to improve in the short term, and they had a negative point differential last season. Of course, the wild card is Ja Morant, who looked to be making “The Leap” in the preseason, but only time will tell on that.
23. Sacramento Kings (n/a, Last week — n/a)
Sacramento has depth, but losing Bogdan Bogdanovic might hurt. Also, I am here to remind you that Hassan Whiteside is on this team. More interestingly, De’Aaron Fox is (very) good and perhaps Marvin Bagley III will show some things in year three if he can keep healthy.
24. Chicago Bulls (n/a, Last week — n/a)
The Bulls are essentially the same team as last season, except for a new coach and front office. That will be very interesting, especially for the long term. It also would be nice for Chicago to get something at the 3 from rookie Patrick Williams and/or Otto Porter. That could make the difference between incompetence and play-in contention.
25. Minnesota Timberwolves (n/a, Last week — n/a)
Count me as a Wolves skeptic, if only because defense matters. Minnesota does have a ton of offensive talent, from Karl-Anthony Towns to No. 1 pick Anthony Edwards. I just don’t see how they guard anyone with their best players (sans Ricky Rubio) on the court. That isn’t what you want.
26. Charlotte Hornets (n/a, Last week — n/a)
Gordon Hayward practiced this week, which should dispel the notion that he’ll miss extended time. That absolutely helps, and the Hornets do have a handful of interesting pieces in the present term. From there, LaMelo Ball is a future stud, and they have a legitimate three-guard rotation. What the Hornets don’t have, though, is a unit that can be above-average on either end of the floor, which is troubling.
27. Cleveland Cavaliers (n/a, Last week — n/a)
There is a little bit of Cavs buzz in the ether right now. I actually get why. Collin Sexton can score, Kevin Love can still play and Andre Drummond is still a pretty good center. Isaac Okoro should help them, at least defensively, and Larry Nance is underrated. I still don’t think this is a good team now but they may not be dreadful.
28. Detroit Pistons (n/a, Last week — n/a)
Detroit’s offseason was truly breathtaking. Killian Hayes is a very interesting prospect, but the Pistons didn’t do much to set him up for success. Is Jerami Grant good at basketball? Sure he is! Are there NBA players on this team? Absolutely, but the plan is unclear. Much like previous years, their floor (and ceiling) is determined by Blake Griffin’s health.
29. New York Knicks (n/a, Last week — n/a)
Ah, the Knicks. On the positive side, New York didn’t do anything crazy in the offseason to make themselves worse for the long term. That is a huge win. I still don’t see how the Knicks are average on either end of the floor, but RJ Barrett, Obi Toppin and Mitchell Robinson should be fun.
30. Oklahoma City Thunder (n/a, Last week — n/a)
This might be too low on the Thunder… as presently constructed. Oklahoma City does have some real players with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Al Horford and others. The depth is not strong in terms of NBA-ready talent, though, and the Thunder are not set up to win now. Patience is a virtue.