NBA: Power ranking the top 10 teams as preseason begins

1 of 11

LeBron James and Chris Paul (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

NBA Basketball is well on its way back into full swing, with preseason games commencing earlier this week.

With the season less than 20 days away from the start of the regular season, let’s take a look at who this year’s teams are to beat in the NBA.

Honorable Mention (East) – Philadelphia 76ers

There is simply no proper placement of the Philadelphia 76ers amongst the remaining 29 NBA teams, as their status for the incoming season still remains shrouded in mystery. The situation centers around franchise centerpiece Ben Simmons who just recently came out to the media that he does not wish to play for the team any longer.

Simmons, being a huge piece of the 76ers system, could impact Philly’s strength in his departure for the worse or for the better. Until his path is clear, Philadelphia’s power ranking will not be.

Honorable Mention (West) – LA Clippers

After reaching the franchise’s first-ever conference finals, the LA Clippers find themselves in between another rock and a hard place with their best player, Kawhi Leonard, suffering from an ACL injury. Kawhi’s status for this season isn’t looking good, which leaves All-Star Paul George to pick up the slack and command the team.

PG13 is a brilliant player, but on his own, he will not be able to take the Clippers very far. When more news on Kawhi is disclosed and once the season truly comes around, we’ll have a better understanding as to just exactly where these Clippers lie.