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1. Philadelphia 76ers
You would've thought Orlando clinched their spot at the top of the power rankings with their win over Philadelphia in the preseason, however recent events indicate the powers may be tipping. For the most part in the preseason matchup Philadelphia's 2-2 zone was able to fluster Young and was more than capable of shutting down their entire offensive system. I wouldn't be shocked if Philadelphia's zone continues to give Orlando fits. On top of that Cooldude was as dominant on the offensive end as anyone could have hoped. The real piece that allows Philadelphia to top Orlando in these power rankings is the woefully imbalanced trade completed with Washington, True2Swift for Khoveri. Philadelphia loves getting all 4 players on the court involved in their offense. Quite frankly before the Khoveri trade they had an obvious and massive hole in their starting lineup, True never developed the way they wished he would have and Chachi proved to be a mere annoyance and essentially useless throughout the Orlando game. Khoveri, back in a team, and under a coach he's comfortable with should thrive, rounding out their starting lineup. Some, Cool, Mojo, Khoveri. I repeat. Some, Cool, Mojo, Khoveri. One more time people. Some, Cool, Mojo, Khoveri. If they put in the effort this shouldn't even be a challenge.
2. Orlando Magic
This 2x championship team is deeper than it's ever been, and just in time to face their biggest challenge yet, Philadelphia. The most important addition is the return of Kayska9, undoubtedly one of the smartest player coaches in the NRBA. His expertise will be critical in what I expect to be a back and forth strategy battle between some of the greatest minds in PBL. A key factor is going to be how each team uses their personnel, and as stated before, Orlando has a lot of versatile talent to choose from. The 2-2 zone that stumped Orlando against Philadelphia the 1st time will be put to the test if Kayska really is what I believe he is.
3. Golden State Warriors
A team consistently making it to the 2nd round and beyond under the steady leadership of Lmj. The roster is a bit oversized, and Lmj, Spyde and Elite all have past activity problems but if they give the effort the result should be a solid finals contending team. In the past Lmj has been able to find unknown free agents and develop them into at least decent bench players, but this teams talent level drops significantly after the starting lineup. There's no evident 5th or 6th man and no real good substitute starter to choose from. We've seen Lmj carry at the PG spot, but now with weapons such as Spyde, Elite and King surrounding him. We'll have to see if he can utilize his players well.
4. Minnesota Timberwolves
This team has gone through a LOT, a LOT of turmoil and with 2/8's of their roster in the suspended rank, Saav inactive and War gone there is no room for error. Two firecrackers in their starting lineup, Wuggey and Eli can wreak havoc on any defense or offense. If they can develop their teamwork and chemistry they'll be a lot more dominant than what they've been showing recently. There is what seems to be a recurring problem which is, Wuggey wants to play PG, and he's a good PG, but his style does little to compliment or include all 4 players on the court. We'll see how long Chef and Swae can tolerate their roles, or if Wuggey can adjust his game to fit a better team concept. One of the largest upsets so far for this team has been SaavageJayy, a player signed originally to be a starter but has been nothing but an inactive, sloppy waste of 10m cap. He's shown little discipline, and a loose cannon is not a good thing to have when tensions are already so high.
5. San Antonio Spurs
One of the shockers of this season, they've been able to build a very deep roster off of trades and of course a giant giveaway from Houston, 3for3, YP3 and xE1. You would've thought Dethmonk's inactivity would've crippled this team, but it has only forced rising star InsanityBoss into the role he's needed to thrive. The teams chemistry needs lots of work but the pieces are there to make a deep playoff run. The roster might be a bit large but if everyone's willing to play their role it shouldn't be an issue, and from what we've seen so far things seem pretty relaxed in San Antonio. They can only hope Dethmonk finds some consistent activity before the playoffs. There's a lot of room for improvement here, with many players such as Yellow working to return to their former glory and an abundance of talented bench players.
6. Los Angeles Clippers
A dark horse in the WCF race, their success is dependent on a bunch of late blooming veterans. Kyle has shown massive improvement both as a player and as a coach, Papa has been a shockingly good shooter and ball handler, Boddizle is apparently a top tier on ball defender? Really it doesn't make sense. Round out their roster with a collection of rising rookies, sophomores and talented veterans with great chemistry I look like a fool for ever doubting them. A major potential problem this team could face is inactivity and computer issues from Kyle, a big reason why they're not ranked higher. If he's not game ready this team can't contend with other top tier teams.
7. Miami Heat
MrAwe despite his flaws has been a great leader to his clan of immigrants and has been able to keep his core roster season after season due to the strong bond he's built with his players, the key sign of any good coach. Sure they're trolls, sure they speak in an irritating Mexican American slang, sure they could be deported at any moment in time, but they also have a very deep roster with lots of assorted talent. This team doesn't have the talent to contend with top tier teams, but a solid mid tier team nonetheless. They might even make the 2nd round.
8. Cleveland Cavaliers
The pieces just keep on falling for a team that was supposed to be complete trash. Wavii first, and through a series of intelligent trades they've landed experienced players TheChamp, OddDoge and 9tailed. 9tailed is going to be crucial to this teams success as they don't have the most experienced coach and Odd has proven to be easily frustrated under poor coaching, and with Jxmp's lack of experience he is likely to make mistakes. The team isn't very deep, but if they land a few more pieces they should be able to fight their way into a decent playoff seed.
9. Houston Rockets
xSayJ made the decision to basically throw in the towel on the season, trading away most of his talent for basically nothing. They're likely to suffer from inactivity but new owner Tuskerbro brings new hope to a struggling team. If xSayJ is still willing to give the effort, he's one of the most versatile stars the NRBA has ever seen and can make a serious comeback, surging Houston up the power ranking ladder. There's a lot of opportunity for re-emerging star HalfDrake to step up and have a great season after multiple mediocre ones. It'll be interesting to see whether this team steps up or breaks under the tension of a struggling team.
10. New York Knicks
This team has the talent to contend for the 3rd seed in the playoffs with stars such as Wolf, and Dewder. However that is unlikely to happen as neither one of them seem too ecstatic to be playing for New York, it's more likely they'll flop due to inactive, disgruntled stars and lots and lots of roster turnover. The team has managed to land decent role players in Intense and Vincenzo among others, but they won't be able to take New York anywhere without some help.
11. Phoenix Suns
A dead team brought to life by a great draft pick, Crazy has failed to sign enough help to surround Futbol to make a real impact on the Western Conference. Not even attempting to sign or trade for talent such as B9, Eli and 9tailed among others. We'll see how Futbol develops, and with any luck he'll bring Phoenix the first decent season they've seen in a LONG time. Zanzu and Net are likely to be the best passing options for Futbol when he plays PG, and he should be a great hash option to Crazy when he doesn't.
12. Washington Wizards
A team ripped apart when Gb00 abandoned them, left in the young yet surprisingly capable hands of Lamsanity. This team has very few noteworthy stars, but they do have multiple unknown rookies and sophomores with lots of potential and a good place to develop. We'll see if their only true player with star caliber potential, True2Swift can be a hand of guidance while improving his own game to make this team a decent force in the East. Starting PG KingHuge6 has proven time after time that he can carry a team with his isolation abilities, if nothing else he'll be able to bring Washington some wins.
13. Charlotte Hornets
The definition of disorganized, this teams roster seems cluttered but does contain some decent talent. Lots of players way past their prime such as KDJ, Eat, Demar and Tar will have to try to maintain a steady level of activity and lead this team. Talented role players such as TheKev and B9 add some depth and stability to the team. TheKev is a very inexperienced owner, but with all the veterans he's signed the team should have enough collective coaching to survive. This team isn't going anywhere, but they'll win some games.
14. Portland Trailblazers
A team that went to the 2nd round last season, this is a huge upset team. We all had high expectations for seasoned player and developing coach Jynxsta, but Portland this season is a massive flop. Cliff had a breakout season last season, but has suffered due to inactivity and left Jynxsta to carry a team with little going on. That being said Jynxsta has had a shockingly good season.
15. Los Angeles Lakers
A big upset thus far, many stars way past their prime gathered in this team, and they would have had time to develop and attempt to return to their former selves, but after the only real reliable starpower this team had, OddDoge and Dewder fled this team isn't going anywhere. Quaint is inactive, Phonzo is a mere shadow of what he once was, Undiminished isn't putting in the effort he needs to carry this team. Jordan is the only other player worth mentioning, and Jordan and Undiminished is definitely not enough to carry a team.
16. Memphis Grizzlies
A team taken over by Billips very late in the offseason, giving him a massive disadvantage. Still Billips can be a very dominant player, although he has yet shown it this season. He's managed to land some decent role players and a great developing player in 50sneakers, they'll likely make the playoffs, but won't go anywhere from there. We'll see if they can fight their way up these rankings and land a higher playoff seed.
17. Boston Celtics
This team doesn't have a roster with a lot of star power, but it's a solid built roster which we can all appreciate, as no one likes a FF team. There's still playoff hopes for this team as they have some surprisingly decent players in ihateitunes and quavo as well as some decent role players to build an active roster.
18. Toronto Raptors
There isn't a lot going on here as with many of the lower tier teams, but again at least they're not a FF team, and we can all appreciate a team that at least shows up to games.
19. Indiana Pacers
This team hasn't exactly been impressive, but they've actually been better than I thought they were going to be. Don't get me wrong they aren't anywhere near good, but they've managed to avoid FFing thus far and some of their players are decent.
20. Sacramento Kings
This is a FF team, if it isn't they do bother showing up they won't win a game.
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