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.

NBA Power Rankings: Updated Sept. 29, 2008

Records are final 2007-08 regular season wins-losses.

1) Boston Celtics (66-16) - The champs lost key role player James Posey but still get the top spot in the InsideHoops.com NBA power rankings, since they kept their starting five, though the bench needs an upgrade. Posey and PJ Brown need to be replaced.

2) Los Angeles Lakers (57-25) - Developed nice chemistry with last season's addition of Pau Gasol, and Andrew Bynum should be healthy and keep improving. But should Lamar Odom be their full-time small forward or come off the bench as a super-sub? The Lakers still need better point guards and an improved bench.

3) New Orleans Hornets (56-26) - With superstar Chris Paul, star David West and terrific, still-improving role player Tyson Chandler, the Hornets, who added James Posey, should be as good as they were last year. Maybe a game or two better. Peja Stojakovic scores but doesn't do too much else. Still need an upgrade at the shooting guard spot.

4) Utah Jazz (54-28) - The Jazz should keep winning 50+ games. The all-star level combination of Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer is one of the league's top duos, plus Mehmet Okur and Andrei Kirilenko make Utah winners. They're close to being championship contenders but are still a half-notch below a level that is deserving of wearing a ring.

5) San Antonio Spurs (56-26) - Don't write them off. You want to, but don't. If Manu Ginobili heals and actually stays healthy in the second half of the season and the playoffs, this team is as good as any, though their bench needs to be upgraded. At present time, Ginobili's still hurt. If he's ever fully healthy we'll bump them up slightly.

6) Houston Rockets (55-27) - For stretches, they played great both with and without Yao Ming. Now Ron Artest is on board, who despite his wacky ways should make the team better, or at least keep them on the same fairly high level. Injuries are always a concern with this team.

7) Detroit Pistons (59-23) - Despite talk of shaking up the roster, every key guy is still here. But Rasheed Wallace and Chauncey Billups are slowing down. InsideHoops.com doesn't expect Detroit to win 59 games again, but they certainly should still win 50 or more. Backup point guard Rodney Stuckey looks like a future starter. Jason Maxiell is nice off the bench. Still the same strong team, just older.

8) Phoenix Suns (55-27) - The Suns are getting old, folks. Their wild fast break and constant fluid motion ways aren't quite as awesome anymore. Sure, they're still excellent and absolutely should win 50+ games. But Steve Nash is aging, and Shaquille O'Neal, though still effective for stretches, is ancient and more injury-prone than ever. InsideHoops.com supports the Matt Barnes addition. Amare Stoudemire is awesome. Leandro Barbosa provides big buckets off the bench. The championship window remains slightly open.

9) Orlando Magic (52-30) - We want to bump them higher, but Dwight Howard is the only star who should improve this year. Hedo Turkoglu comes off a career year. Rashard Lewis will continue to play out of position as a three-point shooting power forward. The Magic are still weak at both guard spots.

10) Dallas Mavericks (51-31) Jason Kidd wasn't used correctly last season and will be mixed in better this year, but even so, he's old and the clock is ticking very quickly. Josh Howard's off-court stuff this summer means little; he was a bit off for stretches last season, though, but remains a terrific, versatile talent. DeSagana Diop is back to take some minutes from Erick Dampier. Jason Terry seems a bit lost now that Kidd is here. Dirk Nowitzki's MVP season feels like ancient history. Still, a very good team.

11) Denver Nuggets (50-32) - They traded Marcus Camby away for nothing. InsideHoops.com can't think of how the Nuggets will improve. Still, Carmelo Anthony, Allen Iverson, JR Smith, Kenyon Martin and Nene should do their share of winning. No real point guard here, and not too impressive a bench. But Iverson and Melo guarantee at least some success. The Nuggets aren't a lock to make the playoffs. If

12) Portland Trail Blazers (41-41) - Showed nice flashes and great team play for big stretches last season before coming back to Earth, but now they add scoring point guard Jerryd Bayless, internationally-successful Rudy Fernandez, and last season's star addition, center Greg Oden, who will be a rookie this season since he didn't play in 2007-08. Channing Frye is injured, but everyone else seems ready to go, including Brandon Roy, who is coming off surgery. The Blazers have potential to leap ahead of the 3-5 of the teams we list above. Could be special. We've probably underrated them.

13) Cleveland Cavaliers (45-37) - LeBron James is the best young superstar on the planet. But he still needs a Scottie Pippen-like sidekick and an all-around upgraded roster to have a championship-worthy team. They did upgrade the point guard position, adding Mo Williams, who put up slightly inflated stats on a Bucks team that didn't win too often. A good team, but will they win 50 games?

14) Philadelphia 76ers (40-42) - Last season's 76ers overachieved a bit, winning a few more games than their roster suggests they should have. The addition of star power forward Elton Brand is terrific, and should add some wins. All the key free agents are back. Lou Williams keeps improving. Mo Cheeks did a nice coaching job last season.

15) Washington Wizards (43-39) - Gilbert Arenas still isn't healthy, and may not play until January of 2009. But Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison are used to being without him. The Wizards could keep winning around half their games, with or without Arenas. The team needs Andray Blatche to emerge as a key contributor.

16) Toronto Raptors (41-41) - TJ Ford is gone, Jermaine O'Neal is on board, giving Chris Bosh help up front. But which O'Neal arrives in Toronto, the one from years ago who was an All-Star, or the recent one, who is bigger, less agile, not quite as good and constantly hurt? Hopefully the former. Jose Calderon takes over for good at point guard. Roko Ukic is here. Andrea Bargnani needs to improve, something he failed to do last season. The Raptors need upgrades at many spots before they can become better than average. Unless JO goes nuts. Then, it's ON.

17) Miami Heat (15-67) - Last season was absurd. The team should have just let InsideHoops.com editor Jeff Lenchiner run the point and signed some streetballers or something. This season the Heat have Dwyane Wade (looked totally healthy in Olympic basketball exhibitions), Michael Beasley (InsideHoops.com NBA Rookie of the Year watch favorite, and Shawn Marion (needs a new contract). The point guard and center positions are still weak. Will Udonis Haslem play undersized center, allowing Beasley to get full-time minutes at power forward? Sounds like they may split time at the four, which means that lousy Mark Blount, and new backup center Jamaal Magloire, will man the middle.

18) Atlanta Hawks (37-45) - Although there was nice stuff to say about the Hawks last season, they still only won 37 games. It was cool that they took the eventual-champion Celtics to a 7-game, first-round series. There's no guarantee they make the playoffs again. The team re-signed Josh Smith, who alongside Joe Johnson, Al Horford, Mike Bibby and Marvin Williams form a decent, fun starting lineup. InsideHoops.com likes Maurice Evans, but the bench is still pretty weak. Horford and Williams need take their games to the next level this season for Atlanta to advance.

19) Milwaukee Bucks (26-56) - Star small forward Richard Jefferson, coming off his best individual season, is on board. The Bucks didn't want Mo Williams' contract anymore, so he was traded to the Cavaliers. Luke Ridnour is now the team's main point guard, and if healthy he should rack up assists pretty easily. Michael Redd needs to bounce back from an unimpressive season. Center Andrew Bogut is emerging nicely. Charlie Villanueva needs to step up now that Yi Jianlian is gone and the door for him is wide open.

20) Golden State Warriors (48-34) - Baron Davis is gone; he signed with the Clippers. Monta Ellis is seriously injured and out for months. Stephen Jackson, Al Harrington and the re-signed Andris Biedrins are still here. New addition Corey Maggette adds scoring punch. Ronny Turiaf helps the bench a bit. Rookie Anthony Randolph has all sorts of potential. New backup point guard Marcus Williams (from the Nets) will need to step up while Ellis is out. Coach Don Nelson always gets the most of his team. But the Warriors probably won't make the playoffs in the tough West.

21) Chicago Bulls (33-49) - It was shocking how lousy the Bulls were last season, because they were the same basic roster from the previous successful year. So consider 2007-08 a bit of a fluke. Rookie point guard Derrick Rose, a star in college, is on the roster. But now the backcourt is even more crowded and confusing. Will the team re-sign Ben Gordon? He scores like crazy, especially in the 4th quarter, but the Bulls still think he's better off the bench than in the starting lineup. Will Kirk Hinrich play point guard this year or be used as an undersized shooting guard? Luol Deng re-signed. The big-man aren't so hot. Power forward Drew Gooden is pretty good, but Tyrus Thomas and Joakim Noah are still developing.

22) Los Angeles Clippers (23-59) - The new-look Clippers no longer have Elton Brand (who didn't play last season) and are now built around new free agent super-signing Baron Davis, returning center Chris Kaman, Marcus Camby (traded from the Nuggets for cap relief), the promising Al Thornton and rookie scoring guard Eric Gordon. It's an interesting set of players. Camby or Kaman (likely Camby) will play out of position as a power forward.

23) New Jersey Nets (34-48) - It seems like only yesterday that Jason Kidd, Richard Jefferson and Keyon Martin were competing for a championship, but the current Nets are built around individual star shooting guard Vince Carter, athletic point guard Devin Harris, lots of role players, and youth. The frontcourt of Bobby Simmons, Yi Jianlian and Josh Boone, with rookie Brook Lopez and athletic forward Sean Williams off the bench (though the team hopes Lopez will pass Boone), is clearly below average. Keyon Dooling, Jarvis Hayes and Eduardo Najera help the bench quite a bit. Will the team stand around motionless watching Vince Carter take tough shots? Or will they cut, move, and take some chances? Either team, the Nets should be headed to the lottery.

24) Indiana Pacers (36-46) - Jermaine O'Neal is gone, TJ Ford is here, and the Pacers are now built around Danny Granger, Mike Dunleavy and Ford, with support from Troy Murphy, Jeff Foster, Jarrett Jack and rookie Brandon Rush. Rookie center Roy Hibbert adds size. They're basically a rebuilding team, and haven't had a clear direction in recent seasons. None of their current core players are superstars to build a team around. Could be fun to watch, though no Pacers fans actually attend the team's home games.

25) New York Knicks (23-59) - Now run by general manager Donnie Walsh and coached by Mike D'Antoni, the Knicks have pushed Isiah Thomas to some quiet job in the corner. As for the players, despite a much-needed roster shakeup, Walsh made no key changes this summer aside from signing Chris Duhon and drafting rookie tweener forward Danilo Gallinari. The team may trade or buy Stephon Marbury out before the season starts, though his contract runs out next summer. Zach Randolph and Eddy Curry don't play well without the ball and seem to make each other worse, and they're the team's key players along with Marbury and shooting guard Jamal Crawford.

26) Charlotte Bobcats (32-50) - Now run by new head coach Larry Brown, the Bobcats showed they aren't sure Raymond Felton is starting material and drafted the tiny, superquick scoring point guard DJ Augustin. Shooting guard Jason Richardson provides big-time scoring punch, and undersized small forward Gerald Wallace is super-versatile and can defend. Emeka Okafor, who re-signed, is a very good big-man. Matt Carroll can hit shots. Jared Dudley is good off the bench. Can Sean May stay healthy? Will Adam Morrison live up to where he was drafted? The Bobcats have some nice pieces, but need to keep growing in every way. Coach Brown's teams tend to overachieve, though.

27) Sacramento Kings (38-40) - With Ron Artest gone, shooting guard Kevin Martin is the lone Kings star. He'll be helped by decent point guard Beno Udrih, the underrated John Salmons, the fading Brad Miller, various youth, and filler. It was actually impressive that they won 38 games last season. We doubt they can do it again. Former King Bobby Jackson is back to help the bench. The team hopes scorer Donte Green, who came along in the Artest trade, is something special

28) Minnesota Timberwolves (22-60) - The Wolves have some fun young talent. Star big man Al Jefferson has fantatic rookie help in Kevin Love, who InsideHoops.com predicts will have an instant impact. Multi-talented Mike Miller is on board in the trade that sent OJ Mayo to the Grizzlies. That's a decent trio of players. Rashad McCants adds scoring punch. Randy Foye, Corey Brewer, Rodney Carney and other young guys have potential. Worth watching, even if they keep losing. Side question: So, is Kevin McHale on board forever?

29) Oklahoma City Thunder (20-62) - The former Seattle Sonics have sold out all of their season tickets, which is impressive, even if they are reportedly selling the seats at pretty cheap prices. As for the team, swingman Kevin Durant is the star here, providing tons of points. Jeff Green and Chris Wilcox are the other key guys, along with rookie point guard Russell Westbrook, who showed big things in fairly meaningless summer league play. Luke Ridnour is gone. Earl Watson is still here, but the team hopes Westbrook leaps past him and never looks back. This is a young, extremely raw roster; basically an expansion team and should win 20-something games. Congrats to OKC fans for having a team.

30) Memphis Grizzlies (22-60) - With Mike Miller gone, the Grizzlies are "built" (they're a total rebuilding project) around Rudy Gay, with help from rookie guard OJ Mayo, point guard Mike COnley, and new addition Marc Gasol, who despite the fact that he looks like he's never exercised is actually an accomplished overseas star. Hakim Warrick and Darko Milicic are here. Marko Jaric is decent. Antoine Walker is old. Little is expected from Memphis this season, but they have plenty of interesting storylines and guys to watch.