Power Rankings Top 15: Let's start the season!

Last month, I made my first NBA Top 15 Power Rankings. With the season about to start, it's good to have another look on how things our going in the NBA. Click here to comment and submit your own rankings!

LEGEND:
( ) - Last month's rank
NR - Not Ranked in the Top 15
Outside Looking In - Teams on the bubble, might break into the Top 15

Now on to the Rankings...

1 (1) Los Angeles Lakers
They are the defending champs, so they start out at number 1.

2 (2) Orlando Magic
Lewis will be suspended for 10 games at the start of the season, but this team have a deep bench. I think they can handle Lewis' absence pretty well and they are looking sharp too going unbeaten in the preseason games.

3 (3) San Antonio Spurs
DeJuan Blair has been very impressive, George Hill looked solid at the point (how many times do I have to say those lines?). And the 'Big Three' are starting the season all healthy.

4 (5) Boston Celtics
Garnett is back healthy and with Rasheed Wallace coming in Bean town, their frontcourt looked scary good.

5 (4) Cleveland Cavaliers
A talented team no doubt. But LeBron's future with the Cavs is still uncertain, Delonte West has provided all the drama and Shaq looked... heavy don't you think?

6 (6) Portland Trail Blazers
They secured their future, signing Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge into long term contracts. Greg Oden might get better, Batum needs surgery but luckily they are deep at the 3 spot.

7 (8) Dallas Mavericks
They improved their lineup too with Gooden, Shawn Marion and Tim Thomas in tow.

8 (7) Denver Nuggets
J.R. Smith's absence in the first 7 games of the season will hurt. Remember that Danthay Jones is no longer with them too.

9 (11) Atlanta Hawks
The addition of Joe Smith and Jamal Crawford makes them a clear cut number 4 in the East.

10 (9) New Orleans Hornets
I'm not a fan of the Chandler-Okafor trade. Having said that, things might not be easy in the Big Easy. I could be wrong...

11 (10) Utah Jazz
A team that always play hard. They have a good core in Deron Williams, Kirilenko, Millsap and Okur. With Jerry Sloan as their coach, they should be fine with or without Boozer.

12 (14) Phoenix Suns
The return of Amare in the lineup during the preseason was encouraging, and Channing Frye looked comfortable with them.

13 (12) Chicago Bulls
Luol Deng is back, the question is can he easily be last year's Ben Gordon? Derrick Rose is still 'out of condition'. But Noah is working on his game.

14 (NR) Philadelphia 76ers
Let's assume that Elton Brand stays healthy. With Andre Iguodala, Marreese Speights, Young and Willie Green in the lineup, the 76ers could exceed expectations.

15 (NR) Toronto Raptors
With offseason acquisitions Hedo Turkoglu, Jarret Jack and Belinelli in the lineup, Bosh should be pleased right? Now they have to play some D.

OUTSIDE LOOKING IN
Rockets
They deserve to be here, last season's run was impressive. They still have Battier and Scola, and McGrady might play later in the season.

(13) Heat
With no serious offseason moves D-Wade must be unhappy

Thunder
They stay at the OLI, Kevin Durant, Jeff Green, Russell Westbrook and James Harden played well in the offseason.

(15) Pistons
The addition of Charlie Villanueva and Ben Gordon might help, but I have to see them on the floor first and how will they fit in with the 'old Pistons'.

DROPPED OUT
Bobcats
With Raja Bell injured, the Bobcats will be hard-pressed to make a strong start.

Wizards
Jamison's shoulder injury means Arenas and Butler will have to carry the load for the Wiz.

Clippers
Blake Griffin's NBA career looked promising until the team revealed that he had a broken left kneecap. He could miss up to 6 weeks.... ooouuccchhh!

Agree with my rankings? You can voice out your opinion @ the comments section of this post. Thanks! Now let the season begin...

NBA: Power Rankings Top 15

Here we go again, with training camp within reach and the season about to start, it's always nice to rank our favorite NBA teams. ESPN's Marc Stein as usual has his complete Power Rankings. I almost agree with his Top 5, but we're a little different the rest of the way. And my ranking is limited to the Top 15 teams (although, I added an OLI section at the bottom of this post). You can also submit your own rankings here.

Here's my take...

(1) Los Angeles Lakers
If Ron Artest fit in nicely to a team that already includes Kobe, Gasol, Odom and a healthy Bynum they are favored to repeat. But if he starts acting up that's an entirely different story; loosing Ariza may prove too costly.

(2) Orlando Magic
Last year's runner-up just added Vince Carter, Bass and Barnes. Although they lose Hedo and Lee; Rashard can now play his natural position and they should be better on offense and solid upfront. How about developing some post moves Dwight?

(3) San Antonio Spurs
They are right back in the title hunt after getting Jefferson and adding McDyess, DeJuan Blair, Ratliff and to a lesser extent Haislip … But then again they need Timmy, Manu and Tony healthy to win the crown.

(4) Cleveland Cavaliers
The team that reached the Eastern Conference Finals last year got Shaquille O'Neal. Then included Anthony Parker, Jamario Moon and Leon Powe to their roster. They should be better right? But It still depends on how LeBron leads this team; plus can Shaq defend the pick n' roll?...

(5) Boston Celtics
Picking up Rasheed Wallace and adding Daniels is nice. Rondo is still getting better and they also retained the services of Glen Davis. But how much does Ray Allen have left? and KG's knees is a cause for concern.

(6) Portland Trail Blazers
The team remained intact; Andre Miller providing veteran presence in the backcourt can only help. This team is young and loaded with talent. And after getting to the playoffs last year, they gained needed experience and should be a dangerous team.

(7) Denver Nuggets
Last year's accomplishment could be tough to duplicate. I might have ranked them a little low but they didn't make a big move in the offseason then loose Danthay Jones and Linas Kleiza to free agency. In my opinion this will hurt their perimeter defense and bench production. But I like the acquisition of Lawson because it will definitely give Billups much needed rest making him more effective down the stretch. Carmelo Anthony is getting more consistent and their front line is solid with Nene, Martin and Chris 'Birdman' Andersen in the fold.

(8) Dallas Mavericks
The Mavs slightly improved their frontcount because of Drew Gooden. Marion will never be the same, Kidd is aging; rookie Rodrigue Beaubois might provide solid contribution at the backcourt. But their success still lies on Nowitzki, Josh Howard and Terry playing at a high level.

(9) New Orleans Hornets
They still have Chris Paul and David West. I think Ike Diogu will surprise a lot of people, and Darren Collison looks promising. But giving Butler away and trading Chandler for Okafor is a head scratcher...

(10) Utah Jazz
This team is solid and plays hard with a possible starting 5 of Deron Williams, Kyle Korver, Kirilenko, Millsap and Okur you can go wrong right? Although the Carlos Boozer situation could be a distraction. But with Jerry Sloan as coach, they should be focused.

(11) Atlanta Hawks
They should get better. Jamal Crawford gives them another scorer (Joe Johnson's prayers are answered!) and Joe Smith is a veteran prensence at the post who could mentor Al Horford. They also kept their key guys Bibby, Pachulia, Josh Smith and Marvin Williams from last season's playoff run.

(12) Chicago Bulls
Luol Deng coming back healthy, Derrick Rose gaining tremendous experience in last year's playoffs, and Brad Miller and Salmons in training camp are all good news. But they might miss the spark and offensive production Ben Gordon provides.

(13) Miami Heat
I might be ranking them too high but they still have Dwayne Wade, Jermaine O'Neal (if healthy) and Haslem. A year of experience for Beasley and Chalmers certainly helps and they have solid backups in Quentin Richardson, James Jones, Cook and Magloire

(14) Phoenix Suns
May make or miss the playoffs (again?!). Yes they have Nash, Jason Richardson, Barbosa and Grant Hill. But the bottom line is will Amare return to his old self? that remains to be seen...

(15) Detroit Pistons
They lost Iverson and Rasheed. But this team has an exciting core. Hamilton, Prince, Charlie Villianueva, Rodney Stuckey and Maxiell or Kwame should start. Then they've got Gordon coming off the bench (which fits him). Chris Wilcox is an underrated acquisition and Austin Daye and DaJuan Summers are possible steals. After last season's disappointment, the Pistons will go nowhere but up.

Outside looking in:
In my opinion these teams can possibly make the playoffs this upcoming season,

Raptors because they now have Hedo Turkoglu, Jarret Jack and Belinelli. That's additional firepower.

Wizards Arenas returning healthy. Randy Foye will give them a reliable 'true' point guard and the possible contribution of Oberto to a lesser extent should not be overlooked.

76ers main key is Elton Brand staying healthy. Andre Iguodala, Marreese Speights, Young and Willie Green are all good. They also picked Holiday but loose veteran point guard Miller to the Blazers.

Thunder thier young core of Kevin Durant, Jeff Green, Nenad Krstic, Thabo Sefolosha, and Russell Westbrook looks good on paper. They also have added James Harden and Serge Ibaka. If their talent translate on the court, watch out!

Clippers they got Blake Griffin but more importantly, Eric Gordon and DeAndre Jordan has a year of experience. Veterans Baron Davis, Chris Kaman and Marcus Camby should play inspired basketball and they also got Rasual Butler.

Bobcats after a year trading their players, Coach Brown molded this team the way he likes it. They showed improvement last year. So will they finally be make the playoffs? It's still a long shot although Tyson Chandler and Flip Murray's arrival can help.

Agree with my ranking? Feel free to voice your opinion @ the comments section of this page. This should be a very exciting season NBA fans!