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Friday, November 3, 2000
Lakers, Blazers, Spurs lead the way



Rankings for opening night, Tuesday, Oct. 31

Well, the regular season starts on Halloween and that means it's time to get our Power Rankings going. We'll be doing this for awhile; the regular season ends on April 18. But for now, we're looking ahead. Until we see otherwise, the champs take the top spot. Look for new Power Rankings each Tuesday.

We want your comments. Click here to share your thoughts about our Power Rankings or anything NBA and we'll post the best e-mails later each week. Note that the Record and Previous categories are the teams' figures when last season ended.



Team Record* Prev.* ESPN.com skinny
PLAYOFF TEAMS

1. Lakers 67-15 1 Is Portland better? A lot of people think so. Lakers get the vote because they won it all. Of course, they play Portland on Tuesday...
2. Blazers 59-23 2 Hey, guys, you may have spent the most, but you've won nothing. Repeat after me, up 15 with 10 to go, up 15 with...
3. Spurs 53-29 5 Reloaded with healthy Duncan and Elliott, new shooting guard in Derek Anderson; this team might win 60 also
4. Magic 41-41 18 Yes, the East does get to join the Power Rankings fun; Add Hill and McGrady and you get East's best -- for now
5. Jazz 55-27 3 Malone and Stockton lost Hornacek and Eisley, but Starks, Manning and Marshall will make them forget those guys
6. Sonics 45-37 14 Ewing detractors, calm down. This ranking is also for Rashard Lewis, Desmond Mason, and rejuvenated Baker
7. Suns 53-29 4 Other than the fact Dudley is at center and Penny and Googs are hurt, Suns fans are very optimistic
8. Hornets 49-33 10 In a conference devoid of big men, this team has quite a few; Watch Wesley, Baron in a fun backcourt
9. 76ers 49-33 11 Who cares if Allen likes Larry. Just score 30 a night and win 50 games and all will be well again
10. Heat 52-30 8 Even without Zo, this team win the East; Grant could really flourish, but key is healthy Hardaway
11. Bucks 42-40 15 Plenty of people believe George Karl has the East's top team; We say not with Ervin Johnson at center
12. Knicks 50-32 9 We remind angry Knicks fan this: It's not where you start the season, as long as you still go to the Finals
13. Raptors 45-37 12 Vince will score, score, score, but who will help him? Corliss? Mo Pete? He will, at some point, need help
14. Pacers 56-26 6 Poor Reggie and Sam; they were the only Pacers to not get carded at the team's media day party
15. Kings 44-38 16 Average last year, average this year; Let the Chris Webber sweepstakes begin immediately
16. Mavericks 40-42 17 And the final West seed is not KG, it's Dirk Nowitzki! Cuban has some horses, but Laettner and Eisley aren't studs
LOTTERY TEAMS

17. Wolves 50-32 7 Let's get something straight: It's not because they're losing Joe Smith that they drop; They weren't winning 50 anyway
18. Rockets 34-48 19 With Stevie Francise leading the way, Rockets think they're playoff bound. We think they're close
19. Nets 31-51 24 A lot on Kenyon's shoulders, but if Nets can avoid another 2-15 start, they could make playoffs
20. Cavaliers 32-50 23 Next great point guard could be Andre Miller; Key to team is healthy Zydrunas Ilgauskas
21. Warriors 19-63 28 Don't laugh, they have scorers (Jamison, Hughes), rebounding (Fortson) and a good coach (Cowens)
22. Pistons 42-40 13 Subtract Hill and add Ben Wallace, Atkins, Ceballos and overall it adds up to a lot less wins
23. Celtics 35-47 21 Celtics have two main problems; Pitino is still around, and Pitino can't play center
24. Hawks 28-54 26 Kruger is in for a fun time; Dikembe would keep team in games with defense, now it's Alan Henderson?
25. Nuggets 35-47 20 Look ahead one year: It's Cincy's Bob Huggins yelling instructions to Van Exel and McDyess
26. Wizards 29-53 22 Hey, Mikey, it really is as bad as it looks; But at least Strickland has been good ... oh, wait, there's an arrest...
27. Bulls 17-65 27 It wouldn't be a shocker if Bulls win more than Hawks or Wiz; this crew certainly has brighter future
28. Grizzlies 22-60 25 If they're so much better, why did they lose seven of eight preseason games; Grizz should be trying
JUST HORRIBLE

29. Clips 15-67 29 Like the Lakers, worst team from last year stays here until proven otherwise; Miles had 20 blocks this preseason


ALSO SEE
Preview 2000: NBA gets ready for tipoff




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