Western Conference Rankings by Division

SOUTHWEST

1. San Antonio Spurs: Added a more reliable perimeter shooter - Barry - to help T.Duncan.
2. Houston Rockets: Needed SF and PF so they added T.McGrady and J.Howard to help Y.Ming. This team became a three stage rocket.
   
3. Dallas Mavericks: Effectively swapped in Center E.Dampier and lost PG S.Nash. Assume the Dampier continues producing a 12/12 average and stays healthy. Without Shaq in the West, Dallas got stronger.
4. Memphis Grizzlies: B.Cardinal improves perimeter shooting. Needs upgrade at Center to match Dallas.
5. New Orleans Hornets: Unhappy B.Davis. This team would make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference but still would not sell out at home.

NORTHWEST

1. Minnesota T-Wolves: Returning the same good team with a minor addition: 2nd round PG selection from Gonzaga. Assume their Center plays marginally better than last year and note: No Shaq in LA.
2. Utah Jazz: Added PF C.Boozer and Center M.Okur. Rookie PF C.Humphries and SG D.Snyder will contribute just as PF Boozer and SG Wade thier first year. C.Borchardt, center from Stanford, broke a foot two years ago and then a wrist last year ending each of the last two seasons - this year he breaks nothing and contributes.
3. Denver Nuggets: Added K.Martin and C.Anthony is a year wiser. Assume the injury prone M.Camby gets injured and plays reduced minutes or misses some games this year.
4. Portland Trail Blazers: Added Nick Van Exel but lost Davis, a solid Center. Strong at SF and PF but S.Abdur-Rahim wants to leave while Z.Randolph has problems off court. Weak at Center position.
5. Seattle SuperSonics: Hard to call, PF N.Collison was injured last year and rookie H.S. center R.Swift may contribute. R.Allen V.Radmanovic and R.Lewis are solid.

PACIFIC

1. Sacramento Kings: Still a strong team.
   
2. Los Angeles Lakers: Much weaker without Shaq and unsure who will be starting PF. LA should switch coaches with Dallas and let Nelson play small-ball.
3. Golden State Warriors: Mullin dumps bad contracts and added defense. Added D.Fisher and already have S.Claxton at PG. Rookie PF A.Biedrins has a nose for playing in the paint including defense, while Centers Foyle and Davis will be good defenders but not scorers. The young core has to score more and defend: SF M.Dunleavy, SG J.Richardson, & PF T.Murphy - Assume they will or Mullin would have moved them. A team deep with defensive players: PG S.Claxton, SG M.Pietris and F E.Najera and veterans SG C.Cheney and PF C.Robinson and D.Davis. This is a great 2nd squad: PG-S.Claxton, SG-C.Cheney, SF-M.Pietris, PF-C.Robinson and C-D.Davis. BTW, the 2st team is D.Fisher, J.Richardson, M.Dunleavy, T.Murphy A.Foyle.
   
4. Phoenix Suns: Nash cannot play long minutes all season. A. Stoudemire gets better and Q.Richardson is an upgrade at SG. J.Vroman FP/C may be a rookie surprise.
   
5. Los Angeles Clippers: Good at Center PF and SF, weaker at PG and not deep.

Eastern Conference Rankings and Snark

1. DETROIT PISTONS: Best team last year now has Wallace for the full season.
2. INDIANA PACERS:Good coach and good team but R.Miller is a year older and Ron Artest is nuts but what other team is better ? Detroit
3. MIAMI HEAT: Best Center and player in the NBA is serious this season. D.Wade got better in the Olympics school of hard knocks. Can D. Wade play the supporting role Shaq wanted out of Kobe? Yes.
4. BOSTON CELTICS: Center Mark Blount is good for the Eastern Conference and Raef Lafrentz is a good PF. SF Paul Pierce is a star who will help this team and the High School pick, Kid Al Jefferson may be a candidate for rookie of the year but D Ainge's management has been weird.
5. MILWAUKEE BUCKS: Excellent coach and they played well as team last year: Returning PF Joe Smith, SF Keith Van Horn, SG Michael Redd, T.J. Ford and 6th man T. Kukoc. Seems like a good line-up if they once again they play well as a team.
   
6. CHICAGO BULLS: Huh?! Assume Curry and Chandler are in shape and serious otherwise this ranking is rank. The Bulls are good and relatively deep at the 1, 2 and 3 positions and they have two talented rookies who will play significant minutes and have veteran backups. PG Hinrick and Williams are both tall, defensive PGs. SG Gordon/Piatowski and SF Nocioni/Deng are interesting rookie and veteran tandems for the 2 and 3 positions. Veteran E Robinson can play both SG and SF if he wants to participate - assume he does. The team will struggle on defense at times but if they play as a team, and Curry/Chander are ready, Da Bulls will make the playoffs at the 6 spot and play Miami - Curry vs Shaq. I expect a trade for another veteran PF/C.
   
7. TORONTO RAPTORS: C Rafael Araujo was picked 8th but will be a rookie year bust - too stiff and slow for the NBA game. PF Chris Bosh will get better but SF Vince Carter is distracting and distracted while SG Jalen Rose shoots too often and poorly and he complains. There is a potential for bad chemistry on a talented team with capable Donyell Marshall playing reserve SF and PF.
8. NEW YORK KNICKS Modest capability at Center and good at PF. SF T Thomas is a flake, A Houston will have knee problems and J Crawford will piss off everyone with is attitude and shooting. I.Thomas annoys me but the NY Knicks will get the last playoff spot and lose in the first round.
   
9. CLEVELAND CAVALIERS: They have a workable Center but lost a great PF. SG LeBron James is a great rookie, not a great enough player to make the difference this year. PG Eric Snow helps.
10. PHILADELPHIA 76ERS: No significant front court presence. Glenn Robinson is bad news, but SG Andre Iguodala is a promising young rookie. Allen Iverson will be the PG this move will not pan out.
11. NEW JERSEY NETS No Martin and J Kidd is hurt and disgruntled. The new owner has decided to retool and so expect to see a trade of Kidd if he recovers and is healthy.
12. WASHINGTON WIZARDS: A.Jamison does not defend and neither SG Hughes nor PG G.Arenas do either. They all like to shoot. Center K. Brown isn't going to be bad but he's not good enough to make the difference on this team. There are three former GS Warrior players - all were considered cornerstones of that franchise.
    
13. ORLANDO MAGIC: New rookie high school PF who athletically impress us at times but isn't going to help the team go anywhere this year and they are weak at Center. Grant Hill will retire - Sorry.
    
14. ATLANTA HAWKS Newly reformed team, no chemistry - too many smalls SG/SF.
15. CHARLOTTE BOBCATS New team, no chemistry.

Centers and the Bulls

E.Curry is rated 10th. That is a high rating for someone who, at around the 16 minutes mark, spaces out and is benched.

If the Bulls are going to be competitive, he has to be rated in the top 5.