By InsideHoops.com

Our power rankings rate the entire league from top to bottom. A very opinionated feature, obviously. InsideHoops.com power rankings are updated every now and then during the summer, and usually every week during the season.

InsideHoops NBA Power Rankings
Updated Oct. 23, 2009

Records are final 2008-09 regular season win-loss

THE CHAMPIONSHIP CONTENDERS

1) LA Lakers (65-17) - The NBA champions lost Trevor Ariza but gained Ron Artest and kept Lamar Odom. The point guard position is a concern, with old Derek Fisher returing as starter and decent backups Jordan Farmar and Shannon Brown behind him. Andrew Bynum must continue to improve. Odom needs to be more consistent. Will Artest fit into the triangle offense and keep the ball moving? Still, the Lakers are the InsideHoops.com 2009-10 championship favorite.

2) Cleveland Cavaliers (66-16) - The Cavs bring back LeBron James and every starter that matters. Ben Wallace is gone, but Shaquille O'Neal, Anthony Parker and Jamario Moon will help. Still not a great team on paper, despite all the winning. Basically it's King James, scoring from Mo Williams, and then the support staff. But the watch-LeBron offense works, and defensively they're fantastic. Delonte West's personal issues hurt a little, but not a lot.

3) Orlando Magic (59-23) - After losing to the better Lakers in the NBA Finals, Orlando made some key summer changes. Small forward Hedo Turkoglu is gone and shooting guard Vince Carter is on board. Power forward Brandon Bass adds toughless and if he's good enough it'll allow Rashard Lewis to go back to playing his natural small forward position. Dwight Howard is the NBA's best center. Ryan Anderson can shoot outside. Mickael Pietrus and Matt Barnes add a lot of nice dimensions. Team chemistry may take a hit with Turkoglu gone, though. The Magic should again best one of the East's best, along with the Celtics and Cavaliers. They're as good as several of the teams above.

4) Boston Celtics (62-20) - Losing Kevin Garnett to injury resulted in the Celtics being bounced from the playoffs early. KG should be OK this season. Veteran forward/center Rasheed Wallace adds depth. Glen Davis has proven himself solid. Rajon Rondo is better than people thought he was. We are worried about Ray Allen's advanced age, and will watch Garnett's knees, but other than that Paul Pierce and friends are poised to compete for a championship.

5) San Antonio (54-28) - San Antonio had a great summer, trading for Richard Jefferson. They said goodbye to Bruce Bowen, who faded fast with old age. Theo Ratliff and Antonio McDyess add veteran big-man ruggedness. DeJuan Blair may be a 2nd round draft steal. Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili know that the championship window is closing. Management knows, too. So the team is loaded and going for it. Star point guard Tony Parker remains at the top of his game.

COULD BE VERY GOOD

6) Denver Nuggets (54-28) - The core Nuggets roster returns. Dahntay Jones is gone and will be missed, but Denver should be about as good as they were last season. Chauncey Billups may show his age this season, though. Carmelo Anthony is a star, but is he ready to get even better? Nene improved last season but does he actually love basketball? Can J.R. Smith improve his basketball IQ?

7) Dallas Mavericks (50-32) - The Mavs lost solid backup power forward Brandon Bass but added multi-talented, versatile Shawn Marion. With Jason Kidd back on board, it's tough to say what the Mavs starting lineup should be. Their four best players are Kidd, Marion, Josh Howard and Dirk Nowitzki, but if all four are going to start than Howard will be out of position at the two, or Nowitzki will be a very undersized center. Decent problem to have.

8) Portland Trail Blazers (54-28) - Portland's big summer move was adding true point guard Andre Miller. Finally the team has a real floor leader, though his limited shooting range means halfcourt may get a bit more crowded for Brandon Roy. The Blazers also tried to add a few forwards but nothing materialized. This is the season Greg Oden has to emerge. Channing Frye is gone. The Blazers are extremely deep. And they just signed LaMarcus Aldridge to a huge extension. Hopefully he keeps improving.

9) Utah Jazz (48-34) - Injuries slaughtered the Jazz last season yet they still won 48 games. With the re-signing of Paul Millsap, Carlos Boozer is on the trading block and may be traded in the coming months, though don't be shocked if he sticks around. The same core returns for Utah, featuring Deron Williams, Mehmet Okur, Andrei Kirilenko, Boozer (for now) and Millsap. Matt Harpring may retire, but the Jazz stopped counting on him long ago. D-Will is a bright young star, but the basketball world has lost a bit of hope waiting for the Jazz to rise to the next level.

REST OF THE LEAGUE

10) Atlanta Hawks (47-35) - The Hawks were solid last season and in 2009-10 will enjoy scoring bursts from Jamal Crawford off the bench. Maurice Evans is also a good reserve, and rookie Jeff Teague appears to have nice upside. The starters are all back, and Marvin Williams claims to be totally healed from lingering injuries. Josh Smith will never be a master of fundamental basketball but he's super-versatile. Joe Johnson has big game. The Hawks should be a mid-level East playoff seed, maybe around 4-6.

11) New Orleans Hornets (49-33) - Injuries hurt the Hornets last season and they were mortal all year. Chris Paul is all-world, David West is excellent, but the rest of the team was disappointing. Shooter Peja Stojakovic is fading and had an awful 2009-10 preseason, tossing up bricks and contributing nothing. The Hornets finally traded Tyson Chandler, getting the very solid Emeka Okafor in return. Chandler was limited but had great chemistry with CP3 (then again, so does everyone). Okafor is a power forward and a bit undersized for center but he brings offense Chandler didn't have.

12) Phoenix Suns (46-36) - Shaquille O'Neal is gone, but the core guys are still here: Aging point guard Steve Nash, athletic two-guard Jason Richardson, aging veteran small forward Grant Hill, and star power forward Amar'e Stoudemire (who again moves to undersized center) form a very good group that should once again run and be fun to watch. Channing Frye is on board. Rookie forward Earl Clark could make some noise.

13) Chicago Bulls (41-41) - InsideHoops.com liked the way Chicago looked last season once John Salmons and Brad Miller came on board. Ben Gordon is gone, and the team will miss his scoring a little, but the Bulls backcourt is still nice thanks to star point guard Derrick Rose. Luol Deng should be healthy again. And the team added nice depth to the frontcourt with the rookies James Johnson and Taj Gibson.

14) Toronto Raptors (33-49) - Looking to improve but also to keep Chris Bosh happy, the Raptors added playmaking small forward Hedo Turkoglu, who should have a nice immediate impact. He's a winner. Combo guard Jarrett Jack helps the bench, and super-athletic rookie DeMar DeRozan has a great shot at winning the starting shooting guard spot pretty early on in the season. Will Andrea Bargnani improve, or just sit back and enjoy his new fat contract? Toronto back in the playoffs?

15) Miami Heat (43-39) - The Heat did little this summer, so there's no real reason to expect anything too different from last year. They should trade wins with losses and mainly stand watching superstar Dwyane Wade try to carry them once again. Forward Michael Beasley will have an opportunity to raise his production this season.

16) Philadelphia 76ers (41-41) - Point guard Andre Miller is gone, but power forward Elton Brand returns from injury. Although young PG Lou Williams is solid, he isn't the floor leader Miller was. Rookie Jrue Holiday could help. As for big guys, Marreese Speights has nice potential, and Jason Smith was good before getting hurt last season. The 76ers should make the playoffs, but that could be about it.

17) Detroit Pistons (39-43) - In with the new and out with most of the old. The Pistons are now built around returnees Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince and Rodney Stuckey, and they welcome shooting guard Ben Gordon and power forward Charlie Villanueva. The new guys aren't known as defenders, though. Look for the Pistons to be decent, but not great. They're in transition.

18) Washington Wizards (19-63) - The Wizards could win plenty of additional games this season. Gilbert Arenas could hopefully be himself again, though it's hard to give him the benefit of the doubt right now after all the injuries. Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison are still here and borderline All-Stars, on a stat-sheet at least. On the bench, JaVale McGee and Andray Blatche have nice potential. The additions of Randy Foye and Mike Miller give the team a bit more depth than they're used to.

19) Houston Rockets (53-29) - Yao Ming is out for most or all season, and Ron Artest is gone. Trevor Ariza is on board and will be alongside Aaron Brooks, Tracy Mcgrady, Shane Battier, Luis Scola and various solid role players. New center David Andersen may get more minutes than expected. Carl Landry is decent. InsideHoops.com is a huge fan of coach Rick Adelman and believe these guys will win more than expected, but this season that's not saying much.

20) Charlotte Bobcats (35-47) - Like the Pacers, Charlotte is always decent but has had trouble rising up to the next level. This summer they traded Emeka Okafor and got Tyson Chandler, who brings less offense but more defense -- assuming he's healthy. Plenty of good players here, like InsideHoops.com favorite Boris Diaw and Gerald Wallace. Raymond Felton is good. The team's upside is still limited but they should keep improving.

21) Los Angeles Clippers (19-63) - The Clippers were junk last season but they welcome rookie star power forward Blake Griffin to a mix that includes scoring guard Eric Gordon, veteran point guard Baron Davis, plus Al Thornton, Chris Kaman and veteran Marcus Camby. Griffin is the obvious InsideHoops.com favorite for Rookie of the Year.

22) Oklahoma City Thunder (23-59) - OKC was too young to win much last season, but they have a nice, fun core featuring scoring star Kevin Durant, talented guard Russell Westbrook and the versatile Jeff Green. Rookie James Harden may help pretty immediately. They're still too young to do much but are worth watching.

23) Indiana Pacers (36-46) - Year after year, the Pacers tend to be below average yet somewhat decent. But they don't progress, and that should be the case this season as well. Danny Granger is very good, TJ Ford is good, Troy Murphy is solid and rookie Tyler Hansbrough may help with rebounds, some points and toughness right away. The team also welcomes Dahntay Jones and Earl Watson. Injured Mike Dunleavy should return sometime this season.

24) Golden State Warriors (29-53) - Monta Ellis returning from injury is key here. Stephen Jackson, Corey Maggette and Anthony Randolph (great potential) will keep doing their thing. Andris Biedrins rebounds and defends. Rookie Stephen Curry should provide scoring punch. Coach Don Nelson is unpredictable. Team is a bit of a circus, with Jackson seeking a trade.

25) Memphis Grizzlies (24-58) - Memphis is a work in progress. Shooting guard OJ Mayo has game. Mike Conley showed some flashes last season. Marc Gasol is solid. Rudy Gay scores. Power forward Zach Randolph, capable of 20 and 10 any night, is on board, though team chemistry tends to be an issue with him. The bench isn't proven. Defensive rookie center Hasheem Thabeet is raw and has to develop before he can really help.

26) New Jersey Nets (34-48) - Vince Carter is gone, with more youth in his place. Devin Harris and Brook Lopez are the core guys here, with Courtney Lee and rookie Terrence Williams joining the party. Also on board is veteran point guard Rafer Alston. The team's forwards are very weak, with almost no players worthy of starting at either spot. Yi Jianlian packed on some muscle this summer. Chris Douglas-Roberts has bulked up as well.

27) New York Knicks (32-50) - The Knicks are finally undergoing a true rebuild and have broken their team up. The current squad is built around David Lee, Nate Robinson, Al Harrington, Wilson Chandler and maybe Danilo Gallinari or rookie Toney Douglas. They'll miss the playoffs again, and the Utah Jazz get their first round pick.

28) Minnesota Timberwolves (24-58) - The key guy here is Al Jefferson, who was putting up 23 points and 11 rebounds but got hurt and only played 50 games. Kevin Love is a nice sidekick and rebound well but starts the season injured. The rest of the team is a question mark. Jonny Flynn has room to do big things if he's up to the challenge. Ricky Rubio stayed in Spain.

29) Milwaukee Bucks (34-48) - Core center Andrew Bogut is back but star small forward Richard Jefferson is gone. Shooting guard Michael Redd has been forgotten about recently. Rookie point guard Brandon Jennings is worth keeping an eye on. Rookie Jodie Meeks may also have game. Probably better than this, but not by a whole lot.

30) Sacramento Kings (17-65) - Barely an NBA team last season, the Kings welcome talented rookie Tyreke Evans, though he's more of a scoring guard than a true point guard and will have to fit alongside scorer Kevin Martin. Rookie Omri Casspi may help but is likely just set to contribute off the bench. Jason Thompson and Spencer Hawes are decent.

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