Sports Illustrated 2011-2012 Preview
Eastern Conference
1. New Jersey Nets (Devin Harris, Dwyane Wade, Andre Iguodala, Drew Gooden, Brook Lopez)
2.
New York Knicks (Luke Ridnour, Xavier Henry, Danilo Gallinari, David Lee, Chris Bosh)
3. Milwaukee Bucks (Brandon Jennings, Jason Richardson, Corey Maggette, David West, Andrew Bogut)
4. Cleveland Cavaliers (Mo Williams, Simon Blevins, LeBron James, Antawn Jamison, Al Harrington)
5. Indiana Pacers (Brandon Rush, Marshall Yarbrough, Danny Granger, Zach Randolph, Roy Hibbert)
6. Philadelphia 76ers (Louis Williams, Evan Turner, Anthony Morrow, Elton Brand, Spencer Hawes)
7. Boston Celtics (Rajon Rondo, Shane Battier, Mike Miller, Kevin Garnett, Kendrick Perkins)
8. Detroit Pistons (Rodney Stuckey, Rip Hamilton, Jonas Jerebko, Charlie Villanueva, Marc Gasol)
9. Charlotte Bobcats (Raymond Felton, Stephen Jackson, Gerald Wallace, Boris Diaw, Anthony Tolliver)
10. Orlando Magic (Jameer Nelson, Vince Carter, Damion James, Rashard Lewis, Dwight Howard)
11. Washington Wizards (John Wall, Gilbert Arenas, Josh Childress, Andray Blatche, Ryan Anderson)
12. Chicago Bulls (Derrick Rose, Kirk Hinrich, Luol Deng, Taj Gibson, Omer Asik)
13. Miami Heat (Earl Watson, JR Smith, Ed Davis, Michael Beasley, Jermaine O'Neal)
14. Atlanta Hawks (Arron Afflalo, Kwadjo Holland, Marvin Williams, Josh Smith, Luis Scola)
15. Toronto Raptors (Jose Calderon, Jarrett Jack, Luke Babbitt, Andrea Bargnani, Amir Johnson)
Orlando and Chicago should all be way higher, Philadelphia and Detroit definitely should not be where they are. Nice to see us get some preseason love.
Western Conference
1. Los Angeles Lakers (Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom, Ron Artest, Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum)
2. New Orleans Hornets (Chris Paul, Darren Collison, Gordon Hayward, Troy Murphy, Al Horford)
3. Utah Jazz (Deron Williams, Jamal Crawford, Andrei Kirilenko, Carlos Boozer, Mehmet Okur)
4. Golden State Warriors (Stephen Curry, Monta Ellis, Reggie Williams, Derrick Favors, Anthony Randolph)
5. Sacramento Kings (Beno Udrih, Tyreke Evans, Al-Farouq Aminu, Jason Thompson, Amare Stoudemire)
6. Oklahoma City Thunder (Russell Westbrook, George Hill, Kevin Durant, Jeff Green, Daniel Orton)
7. Denver Nuggets (Chauncey Billups, Quincy Pondexter, Carmelo Anthony, Kenyon Martin, Nene Hilario)
8. Minnesota Timberwolves (Ricky Rubio, Joe Johnson, Wes Johnson, Kevin Love, Al Jefferson)
9. Portland Trailblazers (Andre Miller, Brandon Roy, Peja Stojakovic, LaMarcus Aldridge, Marcus Camby)
10. Dallas Mavericks (Jason Kidd, Jason Terry, Caron Butler, Dirk Nowitzki, Brendan Haywood)
11. Los Angeles Clippers (Baron Davis, Eric Gordon, Paul George, Blake Griffin, Chris Kaman)
12. San Antonio Spurs (Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, Marcus Thornton, Tiago Splitter, Tim Duncan)
13. Houston Rockets (Aaron Brooks, Kevin Martin, Trevor Ariza, Yi Jianlian, Yao Ming)
14. Phoenix Suns (Steve Nash, Willie Warren, Jared Dudley, Craig Brackins, Joakim Noah)
15. Memphis Grizzlies (Roger Mason, OJ Mayo, Rudy Gay, Ekpe Udoh, Tyson Chandler)
I see Portland, Dallas and San Antonio all making the playoffs and Golden State, Oklahoma City and Sacramento not making it. Those teams have too many questionable starters to be considered playoff teams, but then again this West is very deep and could end up multiple different ways.