Sidelines 2020-21 NBA Power Rankings

This season is almost certain to be one of the strangest NBA campaigns in recent memory, with teams playing a shortened 72 game schedule, in front of empty arenas, with the NBA Finals set to go into late July. Not to mention that the Toronto Raptors are playing in Tampa. The good news is that the level of talent across the league has never been higher and there almost a dozen teams, from Milwaukee through Philadelphia, that can credibly claim to be title contenders, so it will be a fun season to watch, even if everyone will be doing the watching from their couches, for now.

1. Milwaukee Bucks

This team has steamrolled through the regular season only to flame out through the playoffs the past two seasons, but this year’s roster, with more front end talent but less depth, may be better equipped for the postseason. After losing a host of role players like Eric Bledsoe and Robin Lopez, Giannis might actually be more likely to claim his third straight MVP award, and Khris Middleton and the newly acquired Jrue Holiday will hold down the fort when Giannis sits, which he does more than any other great player ever. This team is the betting odds favorite, and the only major issue is the bench isn’t very exciting (D.J. Augustin, Torrey Craig), so Milwaukee might need to snag a player or two before the trade deadline from out-of-contention teams. 

2. Los Angeles Lakers

The defending champions somehow got better as Montrezl Harrell and Dennis Schroder joined an already stacked team. The Lakers’ improved depth should mean that Lebron and Anthony Davis can sit for extended periods, since this is still a playoff team with only one of their big stars. The only thing that can slow the Lakers down is if Lebron finally looks his age, but this is Year 6 of people making that same statement. 

3. Los Angeles Clippers

Doc Rivers is out and Tyronn Lue is in as coach. Kawhi and Paul George are joined by a host of complimentary players, Serge Ibaka is here now, as is Reggie Jackson and Nic Batum. They gave serious money to Marcus Morris Jr. as well, so they are uniquely qualified to handle an injury to one of their stars, and to let their better players take nights off during this truncated season. On paper, the two best teams in the West are still in L.A., but the Clippers have a lot to answer for that meltdown against Denver last season. 

4. Brooklyn Nets

Is it fair to say that Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Caris LeVert. Joe Harris, and DeAndre Jordan is the best starting five in the NBA? How many other teams have a 20 point, 6.8 assist guy coming off the bench like the Nets do with Spencer Dinwiddie, or a double-double in Jarrett Allen? This is a big if, but if Kevin Durant is himself, and if new coach Steve Nash can ensure that he and Kyrie Irving are still on speaking terms, this team’s ceiling is the highest in the NBA.

5. Boston Celtics

Gordon Hayward is out, Tristan Thompson is in. Unlike most of the other contenders, Boston can afford to be patient as Jayson Tatum is 22 and Jaylen Brown is 24, but it’s hard to imagine this team winning the East without swinging a major deal. Kemba Walker is a major injury concern, and there’s not a ton of depth on the bench. 

6. Toronto Raptors

The Raptors, who will begin the season playing in Tampa due to Canadian COVID-rules, didn’t add anyone (Aron Baynes? Alex Len?) who will vault them from a team that makes the second round into a title contender, so their only hope at contending is if Pascal Siakam becomes a first-team All-NBA type player, or if OG Anunoby makes an offensive leap. A more likely scenario is that Kyle Lowry, who is in uncharted waters as a 6’0” point guard who will turn 35 during the season, finally breaks down. 

7. Denver Nuggets

The Nuggets woke up down 3-1 in the playoffs to the Jazz, and blew past Utah and then the Clippers. Jamal Murray showed he is a legitimate second All-Star next to Nikola Jokic as the team waits for either Michael Porter Jr. to break out or for Gary Harris (still only 26) to wake up. Losing Jerami Grant may be addition by subtraction and Will Barton (15 ppg, 6 reb) could be the most underrated player in the NBA. Their plan to win the West? Hope Lebron finally looks old.  

8. Miami Heat

The Heat were playing NBA Finals games just two months before their preseason began, so it would be shocking if they don’t come out of the gate looking flat and exhausted. They are also returning the most continuity in the league, with the only major additions being Avery Bradley and Mo Harkless. If you think last year’s Finals run wasn’t a fluke, then you have to hope Kendrick Nunn makes the leap in year 2, or Bam Adebayo goes from All-Star to All-NBA in year 4.

9. Dallas Mavericks

Luke Doncic is a threat to average a 30-10-10 triple double, and Kristaps Porzingis is a handful when healthy (current status: not healthy) but if Dallas wants to win a title, they are still one star away. Is the third best player on this team Tim Hardaway Jr.? Josh Richardson? It’s hard to see how this team matches up with the L.A. teams in the Western playoffs without a major upgrade.

10. Utah Jazz

After blowing a 3-1 lead in the playoffs, Utah brings back their starting five of Mike Conley, Donovan Mitchell, Joe Ingles, Bojan Bogdanovic, and Rudy Gobert, plus they added Derrick Favors to a bench that already features Jordan Clarkson. Rudy is eligible for the supermax after this season, so this team is in win-now mode. The question will be: in a league dominated by the three, can you pay the supermax for a player who has never hit a three-pointer in his career?

11. Philadelphia 76ers

As far as players go, Al Horford and Josh Richardson are gone, and Danny Green and Seth Curry are in, but the bigger headline might be that Daryl Morey is now in Philly’s front office and Doc Rivers has taken over for Brett Brown as coach. The two new players join the trio of Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, and Tobias Harris in the starting lineup, but this team will need to fix their bench or trade for a star if they want to make the Eastern conference finals, let alone win a title. 

12. Portland Trail Blazers

This was maybe the most disappointing team in the league last season, with their 35-39 record. The core problem was a horrific defense, and they hope to have partially solved that problem by signing Derrick Jones Jr. and trading for Robert Covington. Damian Lillar is now 30, but he is coming off one of the more incredible statistical seasons in league history, with 30 points, 8 assists, while hitting over 40 percent of his threes and almost 89 percent of his free throws.

13. Indiana Pacers

The Pacers went 45-28 last season and now they get a full season of (hopefully) healthy star Victor Oladipo. Domantas Sabonis is also only 23 years old, and T.J. Warren is coming off a stunning season where he shot over 53% from the floor. Malcolm Brogdon and Myles Turner are two of the most underrated players in the league, and the team has a pair of Holidays on the bench in Aaron and Justin, in addition to sharpshooting Doug McDermott. 

14. Houston Rockets

This is the hardest team to rank because we don’t know what James Harden’s plan is. Assuming Harden stays in Houston, there is a chance they can equal last year’s 44-28 mark, with John Wall taking over for Russell Westbrook. Eric Gordon should be healthier and they took a $41 million dollar flier that Chrsitian Wood can produce for a good team. If Harden’s committed this team has championship upside, but that’s not a bet most people would take.

15. New Orleans Pelicans

The Pellies have one of the most intriguing starting lineups in the league, with Zion Williamson, Steven Adams, Brandon Ingram, Eric Bledsoe, and Lonzo Ball, but the bench is a wasteland beyond Josh Hart, so Zion better play 75 games. There’s a real opportunity for rookie Kira Lewis Jr. to immediately play big minutes off the bench. 

16. Phoenix Suns

The Suns followed up their 8-0 bubble performance with acquiring Chris Paul, who is somehow still good at 35. The Suns’ entire right-man rotation all averaged over nine points per game last season, and they have real reason for optimism that Cam Johnson or Mikal Bridges develop into a good NBA starter. Devin Booker’s still here and don’t be surprised if Deandre Ayton averages a 22 and 12 this season. 

17. Memphis Grizzlies

This team desperately needs a second star to help Ja Morant, and it’s not clear that player is on Memphis’s roster currently. Their best hope for a Robin to Ja’s Batman is 6’11” Jaren Jackson Jr., who is still only 21 years old, and averaged almost 40% from three, while blocking 1.5 shots per game so far in his career. But, there have been very few good big men in NBA history who haven’t rebounded, though, and Jackson is still not pulling down five boards per game. The NBA betting odds don’t love Memphis to make the playoffs, but this is one of the more interesting young teams in the league.

18. Atlanta Hawks

This team couldn’t really stop anyone last season, so they gave $133 million to…Bogdan Bogdanovic and Danilo Gallinari? The offense on the other hand will be great: Trae Young, John Collins, and Clint Capela are all above average starters, and they added Kris Dunn who is an excellent defender. During their better seasons this century, the Atlanta Hawks have long been synonymous with a first round playoff exit and this year should be no different. 

19. Orlando Magic 

Nikola Vucevic keeps getting better (19.6 ppg, 10.9 rebs) but he just turned 30, so surely the growth can’t keep continuing. Aaron Gordon, Markelle Fultz, and Markelle Fultz are all legit NBA starters and the bench duo of guards Terrence Ross (14.7 ppg) and rookie Cole Anthony will cause matchup problems for teams with lackluster depth. This might just be a playoff team once again, but a third straight first round exit looms if they don’t make any upgrades. 

20. Sacramento Kings

The Kings are trying to avoid a 15 year playoff-less streak and this might be their best roster of the entire lackluster run. De’Aaron Fox (21 ppg, 6.8 assists) is the headliner but Marvin Bagley III is a real breakout candidate if he can stay healthy and Buddy Hield has developed into a legitimate scorer. Richaun Holmes and Hassan Whiteside lead an improved front court and rookie point guard Tyrese Haliburton has Rookie of the Year potential if he can find minutes on this suddenly deep team. 

21. San Antonio Spurs

The Spurs won 48 games in 2019 and then ran back the same roster, minus Davis Bertans, last season and won 32, missing the playoffs for the first time since 1997. Now, they have decided to keep the same roster intact for a third straight season, only DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge are into their thirties. There is a lot of optimism about their young guards- Derrick White, Dejounte Murray, Lonnie Walker, and lottery pick Devin Vassell is intriguing, but the trend here appears to be downward. 

22. Minnesota Timberwolves

Best case scenario: Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards, and D’Angelo Russell, who are all 25 and under form Minnesota’s Big Three and bring the team to playoff contention. 

Worst case scenario: Edwards has a redshirt rookie season and KAT demands a trade. D’Angelo Russell’s shooting stats are identical to his backup’s, Ricky Rubio. 

23. Chicago Bulls

The Bulls went 22-43 last season so naturally they are going to run it back this season with a nearly-identical roster for new coach Billy Donovan. Zach LaVine seems to be destined to be the Bulls’ Shareef Abdur-Rahim, a great stats player on a terrible team, but there is enough talent that this team has some potential. Wendell Carter, Lauri Markkanen, and Otto Porter Jr. is a better front court than a few playoff teams can throw out there, and they added Patrick Williams with the fourth pick of the draft. Markkanen and Carter need to stay healthy and they need a better shooting coach in Chicago, these guys seem to be regressing. 

24. Golden State Warriors

This team went 15-50 last season and somehow things got worse this offseason when Klay Thompson tore his achilles. The rest of the starting lineup after Curry is Andrew Wiggins, Kelly Oubre Jr., an aging Draymond Green and rookie James Wiseman. This team is over $40 million over the luxury tax, so there’s no hope of adding quality veterans, but some of the younger bench guys like Damion Lee, Marquese Chriss, and Eric Paschall looked solid when given way more minutes than they should have ever been playing. The playoffs may be too tall of a task for this team, though, unless Wiseman is a stud.  

25. Oklahoma City Thunder

This is one of the weirdest rosters in the league, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leading a team filled with raw, young players (Luguentz Dort, Darius Bazley) and slightly past their prime vets Trevor Ariza, George Hill). Al Horford also appears to be in the downside, and this team’s depth has taken a massive hit from losing Chris Paul and Dennis Schroder. 

26. Washington Wizards

Washington’s offseason: they signed Robin Lopez, drafted Deni Avdija, gave Davis Bertans a huge contract, and, oh yeah, traded John Wall for Russell Westbrook. This was already one of the best offensive teams in the league (and the worst defensive team) and they did not get a single minute out of John Wall. The problem is after Westbrook, Bradley Beal (30.5 ppg!), and Bertans, there’s not much there. Will any young player- Avdija, Rui Hachimura, and Isaac Bongo- break out? Either way, the best case scenario is Washington fighting for an eighth seed and the right to be cannon fodder for Milwaukee in the playoffs.

27. Cleveland Cavaliers

The front court of Kevin Love and Andre Drummond is intriguing, and leading scorer Collin Sexton (20.8 ppg) is only 21 years old, but the team desperately needs fifth overall pick Isaac Okoro to come in and salvage the league’s worst group of wings. Fun fact: Andre Drummond, who led the league in rebounding last season, attempted 21 threes last season and only hit one.

28. Charlotte Hornets

Michael Jordan’s team drafted LaMelo Ball and gave Gordon Hayward $120 million to aid a roster that scored a league-worst 102.9 points per game last season. Outside of Hayward, this roster is very young- Miles Bridges, Malik Monk, and P.J. Washington are all just 22, and Hayward is the only player on the roster above 28. This probably isn’t a playoff team, but they should score some points this season. 

29. New York Knicks

The duo of coach Tom Thibodeau and GM Leon Rose are showing extreme patience as the team did not make any major free agency signings, instead shopping in the bargain aisle for Alec Burks, Austin Rivers, and Nerlens Noel. Neither Dennis Smith Jr. or R.J. Barrett has gotten better and it’s fair to be concerned if this is the place for Obi Toppin to grow. Here’s a fun question: who is the best player on this team? Julius Randle, who doesn’t play D? Mitchell Robinson who needs to learn how to stay out of foul trouble just to play more than half the game? 

30. Detroit Pistons

Let’s just say you shouldn’t bet on the Pistons to win the title at +50000 odds. Who is the second best player on this team behind Blake Griffin? Is it Jerami Grant, who they inexplicably gave $60 million to this offseason? Is it Svi Mykhailiuk, who somehow shot 41 percent from the field last year, but 40 percent from three? What about French rookie point guard Killian Hayes or former league MVP Derrick Rose, who provide Detroit one of the most interesting benches in the league. No matter who it is, this team is going to STRUGGLE to score points.