NBA Power Rankings: Opening Night Edition

If I could have, I would have ranked the 76ers lower than this. Tanks a lot, math.

Victor Oladipo’s injury is not the way Orlando would like to start the season, but the perpetually-rebuilding franchise will still be okay as they are, well, still rebuilding.

Marcus Smart and Rajon Rondo might make up the worst-shooting backcourt in the history of the league. The Celtics also just extended Avery Bradley for million per year over four years. That’s three guards for one backcourt and only Bradley is a mediocre shooter. That’s not ideal.

Dante Exum seems like a taller, longer Ricky Rubio. He has a great eye for passing lanes but needs to improve his shooting. That being said, because Utah’s young bigs haven’t shown the growth the franchise would like to see out of them, I foresee some type of trade to open up minutes for Rudy Gobert – an extraterrestrial they found in France.

Sacramento is still my choice for team most likely to wind up with Rajon Rondo. Can you think of a more volatile locker room than one featuring Rondo and DeMarcus Cousins? For the love of Twitter, please make that happen.

When the Pacers start their season on Wednesday, four of their five best players will either be on the sidelines or playing for another team. It doesn’t matter what the under is for Pacers wins this season – take it.

The high point of this Knicks season will end up being ESPN’s 30 for 30 documentary, “When The Garden Was Eden.” It was also the low point of the award-winning series of docs.

Note to Byron Scott: you get an extra point if you make a shot from behind that semi-circular line. Better yet, in the corner, the shot is closer and still worth three points should a player make the shot. Oh, and that guy Carlos Boozer? In no situation – hypothetical or otherwise – should he be starting of Julius Randle. You’re hurting the entire organization by doing so.

Kevin Love might be gone, but there are fewer things more exciting than the Wolves’ pregame layup lines. Unfortunately for Minnesota, there’s still a game to play afterward.

Jabari Parker and Giannis Antetokounmpo are two of the league’s most exciting prospects. O.J. Mayo is one of the league’s least likeable players. Jason Kidd and the Bucks will have to move Mayo before he further poisons that locker room and stunts their young core’s growth.

Look, Stan Van Gundy is undoubtedly one of the NBA’s best coaches. That being said, Josh Smith and Brandon Jennings are centerpieces of this team. Something’s gotta give before I can fully buy in to this Rock City roster.

It’s hard for me to buy in to this old-timers team. I’m sorry, but Deron Williams, Kevin Garnett and a lot of players on this roster are past their prime. There’s really no way around it. Fun prediction: Mikhail Prokhorov will sell this team within the next two years.

Few players have failed to live up to a new contract the way JaVale McGee has thus far. Now, we’re hearing Brian Shaw might be leaning away from starting him. That’s not good news.

Anthony Davis. That is all.

Lance Stephenson will be a team leader. That can be both good and absolutely frightening. However that goes will guide the Hornets’ season. Oh and by the way, it is pretty cool to have that name back in the league.

John Wall looked really good last season and will have quite the chip on his shoulder for being left off Team USA this summer. Bradley Beal’s injury is a blow, but things still look pretty good in the nation’s capital.

Kevin Durant: out. Reggie Jackson: recently carried off the practice court. Russell Westbrook: delighted. Okay, maybe not delighted, but he’s definitely counting how many shots he can put up so long as they’re out. The sad part: he’ll absolutely have to. The Thunder’s outlook wouldn’t be so dire if they still had the best shooting guard in the league on their team. James Harden is playing for Houston, though.

Oh, Miami. Here’s some advice on how to spending Thursday night: Take a nice, long walk along the beach. Go watch a movie. Play a round of night golf. Basically, do whatever it takes to avoid sitting in front of a TV for Thursday’s Cleveland Cavaliers home opener. Just stay away. It’s best for everyone involved.

Goran Dragic, Eric Bledsoe and Isaiah Thomas could be the most terrifying backcourt trio in the NBA. Whether they’ll work on the court at the same time is quite the question, but I can’t think of many small forwards who’ll look forward to finding out.

I was seriously close to sliding Atlanta into the top 10, but need to see Al Horford healthy for a while before I feel comfortable doing so. If that can happen, look out for this team. Mike Budenholzer is my preseason pick for Coach of the Year.

One can make the argument that Daryl Morey had the worst offseason of anyone not based out of Miami. At one point, it looked like the Rockets would have some type of super team with Chris Bosh coming to town, then they turned around and not only was Bosh staying put, but Chandler Parsons was a member of a different Texas team. As good as the Rockets looked at points last season, they’re already looking up to their in-state counterparts.

Kyle Lowry and the rest of the Raptor teammates are confident coming into this season that their individual growth will be enough to make up for the lack of roster improvement that took place over the summer months. I’m not totally sold on that, but you have to start somewhere.

On one hand, the Mavericks got back Tyson Chandler, a centerpiece of their previous title run. On the other, Raymond Felton will replace Jose Calderon. The only time that sentence shouldn’t cause fans to worry is if it’s for a competitive eating team. The Mavericks are not, but Rick Carlisle will find a way to get something out of his maligned PG. Chandler Parsons will need to play big, though Carlisle is concerned he’s a little too much so.

Here’s another team that decided to stay the course during the offseason. I guess I understand as they have Marc Gasol’s impending free agency coming up, but their offense is nauseating to watch. The Grizzlies do have something no other team can come close to though: they know their identity. That being said, some flexibility is needed when competing in the insanely tough West.

Portland might be the league’s most underrated team. My only issue is how little they did during the offseason to improve. LaMarcus Aldridge made a leap last season, and this Blazers team will only go as far as he, Damian Lillard and Nicolas Batum can take them. They could definitely use some legitimate help off the bench -- if they want to take the next step.

Derrick Rose will be surrounded by more talent than at any other point in his career. Pau Gasol will finally be playing for a relevant team, and Nikola Mirotic is shooting threes off the dribble. He’s a couple inches shy of 7-feet tall. How Thibs manages the team defensively will say a lot about the genius he is on that side of the ball.

Speaking of explosive offenses, Steph Curry is another dark horse to figure into MVP contention. I loved the Livingston pick-up and Andrew Bogut seems healthy enough to anchor that defense. Golden State also has the Harrison Barnes-David Lee combination in case they want to consolidate their talent into one five-man lineup. I honestly don’t see Barnes lasting the year.

Here’s a fun drinking game: take a sip (of water, of course) every time the word “home” is mentioned during Thursday’s season opener in Cleveland. Few will make it past halftime without their bladder being uncomfortably full. Zach Lowe says the Cavs could have one of the greatest offensive teams in the history of the league. Hyperbole aside, the prediction holds water. Fantasy owners should be ecstatic.

Is this the year they finally make the leap and live up to expectations as high-flying as their offense? I think so. Chris Paul is an intriguing MVP pick but might wind up splitting votes with Blake Griffin, who has looked incredible in the preseason. If DeAndre Jordan continues his improvement, watch for the Clippers to challenge for the overall best record. They also have pieces to move if Matt Barnes’ struggle continue.

San Antonio won the championship last year playing some of the most beautiful basketball I’ve ever seen. They seem to have perfected their system of unselfishness, whipping the ball around and through defenses to some of the more wide-open shooters you’ll see. Aside from some weird contract news with Kawhi Leonard, things look good for the champs.