Mark Miller's NBA Power Rankings

Similar to that of John Hollinger and Marc Stein(of ESPN.com) and Yahoo's Power Rankings, I will rate the teams in order, from the best to the worst and talk a little about each of them.

1. Cleveland Cavaliers: With a record of 19-3, and blowout after blowout, it's very difficult for them to be ranked any lower. As long as LeBron James, Mo Williams, and their defense keep playing well, the sky is the limit for this team.

2. Boston Celtics: As defending champions, it was very hard not to rank this team number one. Currently, 20-2, and riding a 12 game win streak, the Celtics have shown signs of weakness, especially with their very young and inexperienced bench. Expect the Celtics and Cavs to battle it out in the Eastern Conference Finals.

3. Los Angeles Lakers: Their aren't many teams playing better than the Lakers right now, except the Cavs and Celtics, and that is why they earn the 3rd spot. Their recent loss to a 6-16 Sacramento team is the reason they aren't higher.

4. Portland Trailblazers: With so much young talent and firepower and a better defense, I can not see this team finishing behind Denver in the Northwest division. Expect them to come out of the West with a very high seed in the playoffs.

5. Orlando Magic: Dwight Howard has continued to play at such a level, that the Magic could very easily threaten Boston or Cleveland come playoff time, because of his presence alone. Expect Howard to win Defensive Player of the Year, I mean, come on, he's Superman.

6. New Orleans Hornets: With the recent acquisition of Antonio Daniels from Washington, this gives the Hornets a reliable backup PG. Chris Paul continues to put up huge numbers, averaging 20 ppg and 11 assists per game. The only real cause for concern is the number of minutes Paul has played already, he could definitely use some rest. After defeating the Cavaliers early in the season, the Hornets will be tested once again when they travel to Boston, Friday night, to take on the Celtics. We'll then see how good this team really is.

7. Denver Nuggets: Since Chauncey Billups has arrived, this team has played much better night in and night out. Although Billups is an improvement over Allen Iverson when it comes to defense, they are still going to have to prove to me that they belong higher.

8. Houston Rockets: 3rd in the NBA in points allowed at 93.6 ppg, they are going to have to start scoring more in order to try and get one of the top 4 seeds in the West. With so much offensive talent, their is absolutely no reason why that can't be done.

9. San Antonio Spurs: Until Manu Ginobili can get back up to form, I really don't see this team making any sort of run in the playoffs. But with Tim Duncan and Tony Parker still playing good basketball, anything can and will be possible.

10. Utah Jazz: Will Sloan go down as the winningest coach in history without a title? It remains to be seen. One thing is for sure, Jazz fans, don't expect a title this season, again.

11. Miami Heat: With the recent play of Wade, who seems to returning back to superstar form, this team will be a major threat in the East come playoff time. The only question is, will Wade stay healthy the entire season?

12. Phoenix Suns: The Suns need to decide what kind of offense they are going to run, and stick with it. The defense is giving up 101.6 ppg, but luckily their offense has picked up the slack somewhat of late and is also scoring around 101.6 ppg.

13. Atlanta Hawks: After a hot start to the season, the Hawks have since cooled off. While they have a 7-1 record at home, they are almost equally as bad on the road, going 5-8 so far. For this team to have a legitimate chance at making some noise in the playoffs, they must learn to pull out games on the road.

14. New Jersey Nets: I bet the Dallas Mavericks would love to have Devin Harris back. Harris has made the Nets a pretty decent team. Harris has set several career highs this season with the Nets and has them poised to make a strong run in the East.

15. Dallas Mavericks: See 14.

16. Detroit Pistons: The Pistons have continued to play great defense. The only problem? Their offense. With the addition of Allen Iverson and the offensive fire power of Rasheed Wallace and Tayshaun Prince, you would think they would be putting up big numbers on the offensive end. Until this team starts playing like the Pistons of old, the only thing your going to see in the mean time is mediocre play from a bunch of pretty good players.

17. Chicago Bulls: Derrick Rose has turned out to be everything Chicago fans had hoped for, except, a good cutter of apples.

18. New York Knicks: The Knicks are not as good as this ranking might indicate. Knick fans, don't worry, July 1st, 2010 is only roughly a year and a half away. I mean, why wouldn't LeBron want to go to New York? Maybe its due to the fact that the Knicks of July 1st, 2010 will look very similar to the Knicks of December 11th, 2008. A mediocre team.

19. Toronto Raptors: Have had a very disappointing season so far, which lead to the firing of Sam Mitchell. This team can score when they want too, they just can't play defense. Expect Chris Bosh to go elsewhere when he becomes a free agent in 2010.

20. Philadelphia 76ers: This team had good talent, in Andre Miller, Andre Igudola, and Elton Brand, but they have yet to "gel" as a team. Until they start playing like a team, they aren't going to win many games. They are the exact opposite of Toronto, as in they can play solid defense, but can't put up the points on the other end.

21. Milwaukee Bucks: 4-11 on the road just won't cut it. This team should be ranked lower, but sadly, they are not.

22. Indiana Pacers: The best ever 7-14 team. They are much better than there record would indicate. The fact they beat both Boston and the Lakers is great, but when you lose to the Charlotte Bobcats at home, those two wins don't look as nice.

23. Golden State Warriors: Just because they are 3rd in their division at 7-15 and play in the Western Conference.

24. Memphis Grizzlies: Lousy defense usually equals a lousy record. Hopefully that first round pick will take them somewhere, but more than likely it won't. Just think though, this team would be tied for 3rd if they were in the same division as Golden State.

25. Charlotte Bobcats: Just because they are 7-15, but play in the Eastern Conference. Larry Brown is probably counting down the days until he gets fired once again.

26. Sacramento Kings: They beat the Lakers, which is cool. But they still suck, sadly, not as bad as the teams that are going to follow.

27. Washington Wizards: This is the scariest 4-15 team you would ever want to play. Ok, not really, but come on, you have to admit that was pretty funny.

28. Los Angeles Clippers: I wonder how many fans actually show up to watch this team? I'm guessing not as many that show up to watch the Lakers. Just a guess on that one.

29. Minnesota Timberwolves: Let's see what McHale can do now as head coach. Odds are, the results won't be much different than that of the coach they just fired.

30. Oklahoma City Thunder: On pace to have the worst record in NBA history, how much you want to bet that they blow that too by winning 10 games? I'd hate to be the 12th man on this roster.

That's it for this edition of Mark Miller's NBA Power Rankings. If you disagree with anything, and we all know there will be some disagreements about this list, feel free to comment and express your opinion.

Thank you for reading. Have a nice day!

Mark C. Miller II