NBA Power Rankings 1.0: Celtics steady, Karl-Anthony Towns trade propels Knicks
By Jack Simone
28. Utah Jazz
For the past two years, it feels as though the Utah Jazz have outperformed expectations. That probably won’t happen for a third season in a row.
Lauri Markkanen is a great player. He could be extremely useful on a ton of teams around the league. But if he’s the best player on a team with very few supporting pieces around him, that team probably isn’t going very far.
27. Portland Trail Blazers
After their worst season in years, the Portland Trail Blazers are once again staring down a brutal year of basketball. But there is more hope this year than last.
Scoot Henderson is entering his second year with plenty of room for improvement, and the addition of Deni Avdija could raise this squad’s ceiling. Add in Donovan Clingan and a healthy Robert Williams, and Portland could surprise some people (relatively speaking).
26. Charlotte Hornets
If LaMelo Ball is fully healthy, then this Charlotte Hornets team could end up being a lot better than people realize. But with Mark Williams already popping up on the injury report, the outlook is bleak.
Charles Lee will enter Charlotte hoping to implant a new culture and winning mentality, but the Hornets aren’t the Boston Celtics. He has a tall task ahead of him.
25. Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls have tried and failed to trade Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic all summer. That should be a perfect indicator as to how bad they will be next year.
Chicago has some interesting pieces, but most of them are guards. Coby White, Ayo Dosunmu, and Josh Giddey can probably co-exist, but the fit is less than ideal.