I figured I'd put this in here since one of the big things is the Bulls.

ESPN Power Rankings

My thoughts:

He's made a real mess of the East. There's NO WAY that the Bulls are the 4th best team in the East. I can buy the Pistons after that playoff series last year, but the Celtics have zero depth, and the Cavs are a joke outside of Lebron. IMO the Cavs belong closer to 7th or 8th in the conference, I can't see them replicating that run with no major improvements and much of the conference improving.

And the Celtics at 2?! Are you kidding me?! They haven't shown that they can do a damn thing yet, and they're ahead of several strong Western Conference teams. While they should obviously be a factor with those 3 guys, that's a little nuts.

The Celtics at 2 is probably the biggest joke I've ever seen in preseason power rankings. That's insane.

East Coast Bias. Thats all ESPN is. Why do you think we see Yankees versus Redsox EVERYTIME they play against each other on ESPN? Then they gush over the Patriots and they're gushing over the Boston Celtics saying "This is good for the NBA" Uh, what??

How about, its good for the Celtics to get a washed up Ray Allen and an aging Garnett but the NBA could care less. If they want anybody to win the finals its Lebron because they want another MJ which he's not.

I don't mind the Bulls flying under the radar.

Seriously...that's all it is. ESPN has the Celtic chubby goin' on...until the hover around .500 for most of the year. And great...we'll have to see Simmons beach all year about it.

they have the bulls 10th, behind golden state? i dont care that GS beat dallas in the playoffs last year- that seems like an easy thing for teams to do

oh well. the bears flew under the radar in 06-07, and they made it to the super bowl

I can't say that I have too much of a problem with where we're ranked, although I would put us ahead of Golden State. But the analysis is hilarious; we didn't trade for KG or Pau thus we might regret trading Chandler. I wonder if this guy has ever seen Chandler play?

Zoom, I've been agreeing with you about almost everything lately but I somewhat disagree with you on this one.

The Celtics on paper have a better team than any team in the East. Yes they lack a little depth, but if Lebron could make it to the finals by himself last year, how can a healthy KG/Allen & a motivated Pierce not make it to the finals. Not since the Jordan days has a team had 3 legit stars like that. People underestimate Rondo, and the addition of Posey a tough gritty defender that can hit the 3 was huge. Anyway, barring and injury, they are definately ahead of the Bulls & Pistons. But that's not saying that the Bulls and Pistons don't have a shot.

The one thing I agree with you about is that the Bulls shouldn't be 4th in the east. They should be 2nd or 3rd. If things go right (people stay healthy and are all better than last year) the Bulls could win it all this year. We'll just have to see how they come out of the gate. One thing for sure is that the Bulls can't start off to their slow start again this year. There is just no reason for that after being together 4 years and with Wallace already knowing the system.

As for the Cavs, that team is a joke. They didn't do anything to improve and I could argue that at this point they've even subtracted from last year. They better hope Gibson is better than last year or they are in real trouble especially in an improved Eastern Conference. I don't even think they will be better than Toronto this year.

As for the Warriors, I think the Bulls should be ranked higher. Are the Warriors a one year wonder? They really haven't proved to me they aren't. They barely made the playoffs and then beat the Mavs, the team they matched up the best against. The lost Jason Richardson for a rookie, Baron Davis hasn't been healthy for 2 season in a long time, and Nelson already has his contract extension. The element of surprise is over. Monta Ellis will need to take another huge step for this team to improve over last year.

One thing I really agree with as all you probably know is the ranking that he gave the Rockets. They made the most moves/improvements this season. They really did address the areas that they were weak in. It will be fun to see what type of offensive improvements Rick Adelman puts in place.

Here's my top 15. Notice that I have a couple of teams tied.

1. Spurs
2. Rockets
3. Celtics
4. Suns
5. Jazz
6. Bulls
6. Pistons
8. Mavs (always have a good record but don't do anything come playoff time. Eddie Jones was the only improvement)
9. Nuggets (a second year of Melo/Iverson/Nene will go a long way)
10. Raptors (they are really impressive and could end up being a little higher when it's all said and done)
11. Grizzlies (Darko, a healthy Gasol, a 2nd year Rudy Gay, Conley & Navarro, this team is scary and one of the most improved)
12. Hornets
13. Wizards (I like the big 3 of the Wizards more than the Nets)
13. Warriors (They won't be as good as last year)
15. Magic (They could be the 4th best team in the East but until I see what players other than Lewis & Howard do I can't say that)
16. Bucks (a healthy Redd, Yi, Charlie and the gang will be better than last year)

Well, I said I think the Celtics would be a threat, I just can't put them at #2 in the entire league and #1 in the East just yet. We'll have to see how that lineup gels and if those 3 guys can get any help. Right now the Pistons still have 4 really solid players starting for them and very good chemistry, and the Bulls are probably the deepest team in the league with a few top-flight players as well. IMO they're going to have to stay healthy and have their supporting cast play pretty well to be ahead of those two. It remains to be seen if that's the case or not.

For now I'd probably put them 3rd in the East (behind the Pistons and Bulls) and somewhere around 7th overall (roughly in the same group as the Jazz and Mavericks). We'll see though, the Pistons didn't finish very strong, and if the 3 stars stay healthy the Celtics will be dangerous.

You've got a good point on the Grizzlies too, people forget that they were considered a likely playoff team before Gasol got hurt last year. He's obviously an impact big man, they got him some help up front with Darko, Miller is coming off a big year, and Gay could become a beast this year if he keeps his effort up. My only real concern about them would be the point, I'm not sure Conley is ready quite yet, and it's hard to judge how much of an impact Navarro will have.

Maybe I will be wrong, but count me as a big Boston believer.

I could really care less about pre-season power rankings. When was the last time anything in the pre-season mattered anyway? If anything, getting no respect should make the team play even that much better.

For those of you who don't have insider, here are hollinger's rankings. I likey!!!

There is zero chance that the Cavs win 54. They only won 50 last year with no improvements, and the rest of the conference is getting better.

The Cavs have to get their free agents back on the floor before we can even talk about them winning 44 games, let alone 54.

The Celtics will be a near-.500 team.

I keep saying this, but feel less confident everytime. Someone's gotta do it though.

42-40 for the Celtics.