NBA Basketball Power Ratings
Our staff has developed NBA basketball power ratings with up to date rankings and how we as handicappers see these teams. We will list our NBA team rankings on a week by week basis and as much as possible. You can check this page for up to date NBA power ratings from Cappersinfo Sports Handicapping. Thanks for visiting and don’t forget to check out all the free sports picks in the forums and free picks monitor, other sports betting information, and NBA basketball predictions for sports handicappers!
Cappersinfo Current NBA Power Rankings
(2012-13 Preseason Power Rankings)
1: Miami Heat (0-0) – It is clear that the Heat are going to be the team to beat this year in the Eastern Conference. LeBron James is one of the favorites on the odds to win the MVP Award, and he is going to be joined by Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh as well. This is the best threesome in the league in all likelihood, and when you add in there the newly acquired Ray Allen, it is possible that this team is even better than it was last year when it won the whole enchilada.
2: Los Angeles Lakers (0-0) – The Lakers went out and made the bold move of the offseason, finding a way to get Dwight Howard to Tinseltown. Sure, the truth of the matter is that giving up Andrew Bynum will hurt, but this is really a big time acquisition. Steve Nash is here to try to get his first NBA Championship, and he is going to be hoping that this is the stop that he needs to find in order to finally win it all. In the end, this is still a team that belongs to Kobe Bryant, who is going to be shooting for yet another championship this year.
3: Oklahoma City Thunder (0-0) – Oklahoma City certainly didn’t end up doing itself any favors in all likelihood when it was more or less forced to trade James Harden to the Rockets. Now, the Thunder are really going to be relying upon just Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant, who are going to be two of the best scorers in the NBA this year. It definitely isn’t a given to think that Oklahoma City is going to be back in the Western Conference Finals for the third straight season. Still, this is one of the best teams in the NBA for sure.
4: San Antonio Spurs (0-0) – The Spurs are a tough team every single year, and last year’s 50-16 effort was definitely not one to forget. Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker are at the tail end of their careers, but this is a team that is rebuilding and reloading all at the same time. The rest of the Southwest Division is improved, but in our eyes, this is clearly team that is the best in the bunch in that division.
5: Los Angeles Clippers (0-0) – We have to remember that Chauncey Billups is going to be back, and the veterans that were picked up are going to be great additions to the club. Lamar Odom can’t do any worse than he was last year in Dallas, and Grant Hill can clearly still play. Jamal Crawford was a nice addition as well. If this team can stay healthy this year, the Clip Joint could be competitive.
6: Chicago Bulls (0-0) – The rest of the East is in a heck of a lot of trouble with the way that the Heat are this year, but the truth of the matter is that the Bulls might be able to give them a fight. Derrick Rose isn’t going to start off the season healthy, but he is going to be back by the playoffs one would think, and this is still a solid team even without him.
7: Dallas Mavericks (0-0) – We really like what the Mavs have done this year by bringing in some notable pieces around Dirk Nowitzki. Darren Collison was able to get the Pacers into the playoffs last year as a competitive team, and this might be exactly what he is able to do this time around as well with his new team. The Mavs only won 36 games last year and petered out the playoffs relatively quickly as well, but this could be a big time year for a team in a division that has improved, but still isn’t all that remarkable.
8: Brooklyn Nets (0-0) – The Nets have finished their rebuilding, and they are going to be going at it with the four stars of Deron Williams, Gerald Wallace, Brook Lopez, and Joe Johnson. Kris Humphries will lead a team that is solid on the bench as well. The Atlantic Division might be the best from top to bottom in the league this year, but that doesn’t mean that there really are any remarkable teams. There just aren’t. This is a big time statement year for the Nets, and they really could be one of the favorites in the East this year.
9: Boston Celtics (0-0) – The Celtics have tried to get their team renovated in the offseason. They gave up on Ray Allen, who is now in Miami, and they drafted two big men in Fab Melo and Jared Sullinger, who should help out Kevin Garnett when he needs a blow. Rajon Rondo is considered an MVP candidate this year, and for good reason. He is a triple-double threat every single game. Remember “The Captain” as well, as Paul Pierce hasn’t gone anywhere and can still light it up when he is given the chance. Still, this is a team that is way behind the rest of the big boys in the East.
10: Denver Nuggets (0-0) – Denver gave up on Nene, but it did pick up Andre Iguodala, a man that finally gives the team a shooting guard that it can rely upon. Kenneth Faried proved last year that he can be a legitimate power forward in this league, and Danilo Gallinari can still shoot the ball from all over the place on the court. There are enough scorers to make the Nuggs contenders this year, but if they are going to go anywhere in the playoffs, they’ll need to play some better defense, and Iguodala was a crucial piece to the puzzle.
11: Memphis Grizzlies (0-0) – The Grizz are basically rolling with the exact same team that won 41 games last year. That’s a good thing for the sake of consistency, but it isn’t all that great knowing that strides upon strides of improvement really had to be made to get this team to the verge of the NBA Finals once again. Perhaps getting a full year out of Zach Randolph will help… but then again, maybe it won’t when push comes to shove.
12: Philadelphia 76ers (0-0) – Philly traded away arguably the face of its franchise in Andre Iguodala, but it did pick up a big man in Andrew Bynum that could be a difference maker in the East with Dwight Howard now playing in the West. However, Bynum has to be healthy for him to make an impact, and he just isn’t there at this point and has always been a problem in his career. The Sixers are only going to be as good as their team defense turns out to be.
13: Indiana Pacers (0-0) – Some have a lot of confidence this year in the Pacers, but call us pessimists. We just don’t think that they are going to be able to keep up with the Bulls, and though there are plenty of wins to be had in the Central Division, the rest of the East as a whole is probably better than it was last year. A first round date in the playoffs with a team that had no business being in the second season at all won’t happen again this year, and unless Danny Granger really steps it up and becomes the MVP of the league, this isn’t a team that is going to win more than about 48 games or so, and that won’t be good enough to be a legitimate contender in the East.
14: New York Knicks (0-0) – We really have the same sort of feeling here about the Knicks in the Atlantic Division. Carmelo Anthony is great, and bringing in Raymond Felton was the right move at the point guard spot. Amare Stoudemire can score and rebound, but he is an overrated player that is eating up far too much of the salary cap as we speak. Head Coach Mike Woodson had the team playing well at times last year, but this is a different team and one that probably isn’t going to ultimately do all that much when push comes to shove. The playoffs? Yes. Anything more than perhaps the second round of the playoffs? Absolutely not.
15: Utah Jazz (0-0) – The consummate “team” concept rules the day in Utah, as there really aren’t any bona fide stars to take the lead role. That’s the problem when it comes to be the playoffs, but it is a concept that works and works well in the regular season. It should be another great year for Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap in the paint, but the backcourt really remains void of stars. The team just never really got back optimal value for Deron Williams two years ago, and though there are some nice pieces to the puzzle, there aren’t any championship forming players back there.
16: Houston Rockets (0-0) – Give the Rockets credit for trying absolutely everything imaginable in the offseason. They positioned themselves to have three picks in the first round of the NBA Draft this year and were ready to trade those to get Dwight Howard. They failed. They made the big time offers to Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin, both of which were accepted. Now, they’ve gone out and dealt for James Harden from the Thunder. Still, when you really look at this club, this is what you see… Jeremy Lin, James Harden, Chandler Parsons, Patrick Patterson, Omer Asik, Marcus Morris, Royce White, Terrence Jones, Carlos Delfino. That really doesn’t excite us all that much, and we aren’t that sure that Houston really went in the right direction this year at all.
17: Phoenix Suns (0-0) – Always mired in mediocrity, this season is no exception for the Suns. Steve Nash is gone, but the truth of the matter is that he was holding up the progression in the career of Goran Dragic. Luis Scola was a nice pickup from Houston, and Channing Frye and Michael Beasley can both knock down a ton of shots from the outside. Marcin Gortat is still proving that he is one of the better evolving centers in the game as well.
18: New Orleans Hornets (0-0) – Alright, maybe we’re crazy for putting the Hornets up this year, but again, we like what we see. There was no way that this team was 21-45 bad last year, even after trading Chris Paul to the Clippers. Austin Rivers can run the point, and Anthony Davis gives this team that oomph in the middle defensively that it badly needs. Adding Ryan Anderson from the Magic should pay off as well, as he is a force on the outside and can do some rebounding when needed as well. Playoffs? Don’t count the Hornets totally out of it if Davis and Rivers can step in and be legitimate NBA starters.
19: Atlanta Hawks (0-0) – The Hawks might very well rue the day that they traded Joe Johnson to the Nets. They clearly are trying to make a run at some big time free agents down the line, and that means opening up some cap space. That’s what they did when they dealt Johnson, but trading the face of your franchise isn’t always the best idea in the world. Atlanta might be a playoff team in the East, but then again, it might not either.
20: Golden State Warriors (0-0) – We’re buying what the Warriors are selling this year under second year Head Coach Mark Jackson. The trade for Andrew Bogut was something that was genius in our eyes, and Harrison Barnes brings more depth and length to a team that badly needed some of it. Factor in Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson and their abilities to shoot the ball from all over the place, and David Lee doing his job in the paint, and the abilities are definitely there for this team. However, defense is still an issue. If Jackson can get this club rolling in the right direction, the Warriors could become a playoff team very quickly.
21: Minnesota Timberwolves (0-0) – Health is really the big problem here for the T-Wolves this year. Kevin Love is going to miss the first month of the season after breaking his hand, and it is anyone’s guess when Ricky Rubio is going to ultimately be able to come back in the lineup. When those two things happen though, Minnesota can play. Remember that Brandon Roy might be able to provide this team with a spark if he can get back to the form that he was in a couple of years ago with the Blazers, and Derrick Williams is only going to get better with his increased minutes in Love’s absence.
22: Portland Trail Blazers (0-0) – Portland picked up Damian Lillard in the NBA Draft, and he might prove to be one of the best point guards that the league has seen add in quite some time. Nicolas Batum and LaMarcus Aldridge are going to have to lead the way in the scoring department, and Wesley Matthews has to continue to step up. The core is here for the Blazers, but the fact of the matter is that they are just miles behind a ton of other teams in the Western Conference.
23: Toronto Raptors (0-0) – Toronto gave up a ton to get Kyle Lowry, but he immediately comes to the Great White North and might make the Raptors somewhat relevant again. Andrea Bargnani has actually evolved into a player, and Terrence Ross hopes to come in and prove that he can play right away in this league. The team isn’t particularly deep though, and that could be a cause for concern going forward for a team that doesn’t have a first round draft pick this coming year.
24: Milwaukee Bucks (0-0) – Now that the Bucks have had the offseason to groom Monta Ellis with Brandon Jennings, they are going to have a shot to get back in the playoff race in the back end of the Eastern Conference. Not that that’s saying a whole heck of a lot, because the No. 8 seed knows that it has just four games to play before getting sent packing once again. We’d rather be in the NBA Draft lottery instead.
25: Washington Wizards (0-0) – The backcourt that the Wizards have put together might be one of the best in the league, knowing that both John Wall and Bradley Beal can score from all over the court. Is the frontcourt even remotely worthy, though? That’s the real question. The godsend for Washington is that the rest of the Southeast really stinks, and it might even be able to sneak into the back of the playoffs if the Hawks prove to be horrid as well.
26: Cleveland Cavaliers (0-0) – The Cavs are going to be a fun team to watch grow this year around Kyrie Irving. There are a bunch of youngsters that are coming in to try to help, but Tyler Zeller and Tristan Thompson aren’t likely there yet to be able to get this team very far out of the gutter in the Central Division. The good news is that there are some atrocious teams in the Central, so even finishing third isn’t out of the question. But that doesn’t mean that there are going to be more than 30 wins.
27: Detroit Pistons (0-0) – The Pistons have been woeful for years, and this season isn’t going to be all that much different. Brandon Knight and Rodney Stuckey in the backcourt is a decent start, while Greg Monroe is a force in the middle, but the team isn’t all that deep and really doesn’t have any stars to speak of whatsoever.
28: Orlando Magic (0-0) – When the faces of your franchise are Jameer Nelson and JJ Redick, you’re in trouble. Orlando really blew apart its whole team in the Dwight Howard trade, and the effort is now there to ultimately rebuild two or three years into the future. As a result, this is going to go from a team that really wasn’t all that far from a title to one that is going to be a train wreck of epic proportions.
29: Sacramento Kings (0-0) – More young pieces have come together in Sacramento, but does the team really have the goods to ultimately be even remotely competitive game in and game out? Probably not. DeMarcus Cousins and Tyreke Evans should be the start of a great team one would think, but closer analysis shows that this club just doesn’t play like a team. If that doesn’t change, there is no way that the Kings are going to win even 30 games.
30: Charlotte Bobcats (0-0) – The Bobcats just can’t be any worse than they were last year, but they don’t have nearly enough pieces to the puzzle to make up for a team that literally finished off as the worst team in the history of the NBA last year at just 7-59. Getting to 25 wins would be an accomplishment for the Cats.
