<TABLE class=tablehead cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=3 border=0><TBODY><TR class=stathead><TD colSpan=5>2008-09 Power Rankings: Training Camp</TD></TR><TR class=colhead><TD width="15%" colSpan=2>RANK (LAST WK)</TD><TD width=90>TEAM</TD><TD width=40>REC.</TD><TD>COMMENT</TD></TR><TR class=oddrow><TD>
</TD><TD align=middle>1 (1)</TD><TD>Celtics</TD><TD align=middle>66-16</TD><TD>Slotting the defending champs here has never been more automatic, even though Posey left. Every time we hear someone ask whether they'll be hungry enough to repeat, we want to respond: Boston still has KG, right?</TD></TR><TR class=evenrow><TD>
</TD><TD align=middle>2 (2)</TD><TD>Lakers</TD><TD align=middle>57-25</TD><TD>Despite concerns -- Bynum's recovery from knee woes, Kobe's insisting he doesn't need pinkie surgery, and doubts about Bynum, Gasol and Odom's coexisting -- who in the West wouldn't trade for the Lakers' issues?</TD></TR><TR class=oddrow><TD>
</TD><TD align=middle>3 (5)</TD><TD>Hornets</TD><TD align=middle>56-26</TD><TD>You certainly can make the argument -- and I think we're leaning that way -- that the best team in the killer division that delivered four 50-win teams last season will wind up being Chris Paul's team. Concur?</TD></TR><TR class=evenrow><TD>
</TD><TD align=middle>4 (6)</TD><TD>Rockets</TD><TD align=middle>55-27</TD><TD>No team in the West made a bigger summer splash than the health-challenged Rockets did when they traded for Artest. Of course, as Yao noted last year: ''We say that every year.'' Cautious optimism is wisest.</TD></TR><TR class=oddrow><TD>
</TD><TD align=middle>5 (8)</TD><TD>Spurs</TD><TD align=middle>56-26</TD><TD>You know all about the Spurs in odd-numbered years. So dismiss them at your own peril, even if what Duncan declared last season -- ''Our biggest problem is health'' -- is a problem with Ginobili already out early.</TD></TR><TR class=evenrow><TD>
</TD><TD align=middle>6 (15)</TD><TD>Cavaliers</TD><TD align=middle>45-37</TD><TD>Although trading for Michael Redd was a nice fantasy, getting Mo Williams off the Bucks is hardly a consolation prize. He's a younger version of the Mike -- Bibby -- Cleveland tried for years to add and should give Bron help.</TD></TR><TR class=oddrow><TD>
</TD><TD align=middle>7 (3)</TD><TD>Pistons</TD><TD align=middle>59-23</TD><TD>The summer certainly would have been more fun had Joe D delivered that shake-up, but you can see why he resisted. For all that closing-window talk, the Pistons are a 59-win team whose kids are only getting better.</TD></TR><TR class=evenrow><TD>
</TD><TD align=middle>8 (13)</TD><TD>76ers</TD><TD align=middle>40-42</TD><TD>The Sixers were the undisputed winners of the offseason, but Brand might lift last season's No. 7s only one spot. Philly can finish anywhere from No. 2 to No. 6, as can Cleveland, Detroit, Orlando and Toronto.</TD></TR><TR class=oddrow><TD>
</TD><TD align=middle>9 (4)</TD><TD>Jazz</TD><TD align=middle>54-28</TD><TD>Is this the last season for Utah's Olympic tag team to be together? With Boozer headed for free agency in the summer, that's the question D-Will and the rest of this Jazz will hear all year, no matter how good they are.</TD></TR><TR class=evenrow><TD>
</TD><TD align=middle>10 (19)</TD><TD>Raptors</TD><TD align=middle>41-41</TD><TD>I loved the Raps' gamble here. If O'Neal's knees don't hold up, the Raptors still can be a .500 team without Ford and Nesterovic. And if he does come back strong? Toronto becomes a threat to the East's beasts in Boston.</TD></TR><TR class=oddrow><TD>
</TD><TD align=middle>11 (10)</TD><TD>Mavericks</TD><TD align=middle>51-31</TD><TD>Which longtime power is straining harder to keep the window ajar? Dirk, J-Kidd and the under-fire Josh Howard in Dallas? Or their old Phoenix friends who must be equally stunned to start the new season out of the top 10?</TD></TR><TR class=evenrow><TD>
</TD><TD align=middle>12 (7)</TD><TD>Suns</TD><TD align=middle>55-27</TD><TD>If there's a more compelling mystery in the whole league than seeing what we'll get from the Suns' throwing new coach Terry Porter together with Nash, Shaq, Amare and Grant Hill, please point it out to us.</TD></TR><TR class=oddrow><TD>
</TD><TD align=middle>13 (17)</TD><TD>Trail Blazers</TD><TD align=middle>41-41</TD><TD>Has any non-playoff team for five straight seasons generated expectations like these kids? But the Blazers won't complain if managing expectations (as opposed to the health of Roy and Oden) is their biggest worry.</TD></TR><TR class=evenrow><TD>
</TD><TD align=middle>14 (11)</TD><TD>Magic</TD><TD align=middle>52-30</TD><TD>Stan Van has made folks in the Magic Kingdom forget that they were ever spurned by Billy Donovan. But Orlando didn't do much to get better in the offseason, so SVG will have to hope getting older is enough.</TD></TR><TR class=oddrow><TD>
</TD><TD align=middle>15 (12)</TD><TD>Wizards</TD><TD align=middle>43-39</TD><TD>Wiz vets like to say that, when healthy, they're right there with the East's best. Two obvious problems there: Washington is rarely healthy, and that statement is increasingly debatable in the (no misprint) improving East.</TD></TR><TR class=evenrow><TD>
</TD><TD align=middle>16 (24)</TD><TD>Bucks</TD><TD align=middle>26-56</TD><TD>Almost every one of last season's non-playoff teams in the East thinks it can break through this season. Hiring Skiles and acquiring Richard Jefferson arguably gives Milwaukee more hope than anyone in that group.</TD></TR><TR class=oddrow><TD>
</TD><TD align=middle>17 (23)</TD><TD>Bulls</TD><TD align=middle>33-49</TD><TD>Returning to the top eight when PG and coach have no experience won't be easy. A guards glut and the usual low-post void won't help. Can't be harder than winning the Rose lottery with the ninth-best chances, though.</TD></TR><TR class=evenrow><TD>
</TD><TD align=middle>18 (9)</TD><TD>Nuggets</TD><TD align=middle>50-32</TD><TD>For just the second time in club history, Denver sports a streak of five straight winning seasons. Anyone think the Camby-less Nuggets, with A.I. trade rumors constantly swirling, can play enough D to make it six? </TD></TR><TR class=oddrow><TD>
</TD><TD align=middle>19 (29)</TD><TD>Clippers</TD><TD align=middle>23-59</TD><TD>Not nearly as down on the Clips' chances as the departing Maggette, who claims homecoming king Baron Davis is "in for a rude awakening." Not ready to say this new team of newsmakers can make the playoffs, either.</TD></TR><TR class=evenrow><TD>
</TD><TD align=middle>20 (14)</TD><TD>Warriors</TD><TD align=middle>48-34</TD><TD>Q: What's worse than winning 48 games and not making the playoffs? A: Everything that has happened to the Warriors since that April heartbreak, lowlighted by Baron Davis' departure and the Ellis injury saga.</TD></TR><TR class=oddrow><TD>
</TD><TD align=middle>21 (21)</TD><TD>Bobcats</TD><TD align=middle>32-50</TD><TD>We'd normally see the Bobs as the sort of the team in line for a 10-win spike after hiring a proven winner like Larry Brown. Problem is, Charlotte's roster still is badly flawed. Nor are we sure they're getting vintage Larry.</TD></TR><TR class=evenrow><TD>
</TD><TD align=middle>22 (17)</TD><TD>Hawks</TD><TD align=middle>37-45</TD><TD>Seeing Childress defect to Greece won't hurt the Hawks nearly as much as the knowledge that 37 wins ain't going to get you a playoff spot this season … and that competition for the No. 8 seed will be far more fierce.</TD></TR><TR class=oddrow><TD>
</TD><TD align=middle>23 (16)</TD><TD>Kings</TD><TD align=middle>38-44</TD><TD>Bobby Brown's arrival means that we'll be more into them than we've been since Henry Turner and Leon Wood were Kings. For the rest of you, it's a full-on youth movement starring Kevin Martin and little else you'll recognize.</TD></TR><TR class=evenrow><TD>
</TD><TD align=middle>24 (30)</TD><TD>Heat</TD><TD align=middle>15-67</TD><TD>It doesn't seem outlandish, even after a nosedive to the shameful depths of 15-67, to expect D-Wade, Marion and Beasley to mount a playoff push. Until you realize Coach Spoelstra has almost nothing else to work with.</TD></TR><TR class=oddrow><TD>
</TD><TD align=middle>25 (20)</TD><TD>Pacers</TD><TD align=middle>36-46</TD><TD>Maybe we should be higher on a team that finished one game shy of the playoffs. Just can't shake the feeling that Indy (a) came up way short on the O'Neal deal and (b) still lacks the right mix to play Obie's way.</TD></TR><TR class=evenrow><TD>
</TD><TD align=middle>26 (25)</TD><TD>Knicks</TD><TD align=middle>23-59</TD><TD>Donnie W. and D'Antoni have quickly restored some hope to MSG's gloomy halls, but that's a lot easier in the summer when all the focus is on them. Now the players are back to remind everyone how hard their jobs will be.</TD></TR><TR class=oddrow><TD>
</TD><TD align=middle>27 (22)</TD><TD>Nets</TD><TD align=middle>34-48</TD><TD>Ouch, ouch, ouch. After every other Atlantic team chasing Boston made a big-name snag -- Elton Brand, Jermaine O'Neal, Mike D'Antoni -- rebuilding Jersey was pegged to finish last in the East in ESPN's staff poll.</TD></TR><TR class=evenrow><TD>
</TD><TD align=middle>28 (28)</TD><TD>Timberwolves</TD><TD align=middle>22-60</TD><TD>The Wolves quietly posted a borderline respectable record of 17-26 after last season's 5-34 start to Life After KG. Yet it's tough to picture Minnesota sustaining that form over 82 games, fond as we are of Mike Miller's game.</TD></TR><TR class=oddrow><TD>
</TD><TD align=middle>29 (26)</TD><TD>Grizzlies</TD><TD align=middle>22-60</TD><TD>No one is bound to even notice in the West, but the much-maligned Grizz have assembled an intriguing group of kids: O.J. Mayo, Rudy Gay, even Marc Gasol. Which is why trading for Z-Bo to be the vet made no sense.</TD></TR><TR class=evenrow><TD>
</TD><TD align=middle>30 (27)</TD><TD>Thunder</TD><TD align=middle>20-62</TD><TD>The Hornets went 38-44 in OKC's only other season as an NBA city. The Thunder? Dare we say 28 wins would represent success for a group that still offers precious little to thrill those loud crowds beyond Kevin Durant?</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
