http://www.nba.com/powerrankings/ 6 Houston (7) 55-27 Off: 108.2 (17), Def: 103.0 (2) -- The addition of Ron Artest will give the Rockets a boost, but the health of Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady will always be a question. McGrady's hesitance to play on his surgically-repaired knee in the preseason should keep any overconfidence from Houston fans in check.
Not only that.. but one of the rankings that they use to judge... has them with Off: 107.6 (20), Def: 107.9 (11) Excuse me... but that says they are going to give up marginally more points than they will score!!
Yeah I meant the Cavs numbers... way overrated. Philly, I understand moving them up, but the Cavs didn't add an all star.. they added Mo Williams. Who is good, but isn't enough to move them up the rankings that much.
That's based on the numbers last season. I guess the strong playoff performance and the acquisition of Mo Williams has raised their stock considerably.
NBA today is all about money. They either overrate ot overhype their players. There is no question that Lebron is a good player, but in no way are the cavs worth 4. Sure the cavs may be the top 3 or 2 team in the east, and sure the east is a joke, but NBA is going overboard with these rankings. Looking at where they put Kobe in the defensive catergory is disgusting enough. Ranked higher than Bruce Bowen and Battier? The cavs are not better than the Rockets now, nor are they better than the Rockets before. Hell, even with their current lineup it won't beat the Rockets without Artest. Like what Hayesfan said, why the hell are the cavs ranked 4 when they let up more points than they score..... I don't care if Lebron took the celtics to 7 (against the unprepared and playoff unexperienced celtics that took hawks to 7......), the Cavs are at most right below spurs.
Cavs sucks. I say they should rank around 10 or 11. Heck, if they were on the west last year they wouldn't even make the playoffs. All I heard during the off season is Mo Williams going to help the Cavs win a title and how the Cavs with the acquisition of Mo Williams automatically put them as contenders. They can't beat any of the West top 8. Portland Trailblazers can take them easily. The CAVS are overrated!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
As much as most of us are Rockets faithfuls we all still need to understand that this team has alot to prove. That cavs team was in the finals two years ago. They also brought the series to seven games against the defending Champs. We have yet to surpass the first round nor have we been truly healthy like the article states. We could easily move up but again this team needs to show us all that they are truly worth the appraise most of us give them.
I'm going against the grain on this thread, but I think the Cavs are making it to the Finals this year. They haven't added any significant pieces but I'm drinking the Lebron James Kool Aid and I think he's going to carry them even more than in the past. He's only 23-years-old and I think he's going to get better this year. The East is still a much weaker conference although Philly, Boston and Detroit should all be good.
I think the problem with your assessment is the three teams you mentioned. Admittedly the Pistons and 76ers are an X factor at this point, but Boston still out-does the Cavs right now. Atlanta could be interesting this year as well.
