From Dennis Velasco,
Your Guide to Basketball.
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13. Denver Nuggets (44-38): The return of Nene could make a big difference for the Nuggets as he's a big man with offensive skill with good rebounding ability and the knack for stealing the ball. Something tells me that Carmelo Anthony is focused and ready to get that ring after good friend, Dwyane Wade, got his.

14. Indiana Pacers 41-41): So much turmoil in Indiana. But, it's hard to turn the other way when evaluating their talent. The return of Al Harrington is big, but a healthy Jermaine O'Neal would be bigger for the Pacers.

15. Sacramento Kings (44-38): New head coach, Eric Musselman will have the Kings playing tougher defense, which will accentuate Ron Artest's value even more. Mike Bibby is out for the first two weeks of the season, but look for Kevin Martin to pick up the scoring slack while Bibby is gone, and actually get better as the season goes on.

16. Los Angeles Lakers (45-37): Kobe Bryant will be coming back from offseason surgery and will be rusty at the beginning of the season. Expect the rust to come off a month after the season starts. Lamar Odom, Smush Parker, et al. should be more cohesive on offense with a season's worth of coach Phil Jackson's triangle offense.

17. Orlando Magic (36-46): The Magic finished off strong last season and have a great young core of Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson. Howard should get better, which is a scary thought, and help lead the Magic into the playoffs. Whether or not Grant Hill actually stays healthy, won't matter as much. Consider any contributions as gravy on the meat.

18. Milwaukee Bucks (40-42): The Bucks traded quicksilver point guard, T.J. Ford, for super-talented big man, Charlie Villanueva. No worries, Mo Williams is talented enough to run the club and Villanueva will help pick up the slack for an injured Andrew Bogut who will miss about two months of the season due to injury.

19. Toronto Raptors (27-55): The Raptors are going to run, run, run. And that's why they traded Villanueva for Ford, who will be more than ready and capable of being the ringleader of this offense. If Chris Bosh played in a major American city, he'd be a superstar by now. America's loss is Canada's gain. Toronto should contend for a playoff spot.

20. Charlotte Bobcats (26-56): A streak of bad luck hit the Bobcats last season as Emeka Okafor, Sean May, and Gerald Wallace lost time on the court because of various injuries. When Wallace did play, he was almost robotic in the way he played defense and finished breaks. Raymond Felton will be an amazing player to watch as he breaks out this season. And, of course, it'll be interesting to see how Adam Morrison does his rookie season.

21. Golden State Warriors (34-48): Head coach Don Nelson is back with the Warriors after coaching stints with the New York Knicks and Dallas Mavericks. His former player with the Warriors, Chris Mullin, is now his boss, which is an interesting dynamic. Nelson must be hoping to get a revised version of RUN TMC (TIM Hardaway, MITCH Richmond, and CHRIS Mullin) that was successful in Nelson's first go-around. The potential abbreviated players - BJM (BARON Davis, JASON Richardson and MIKE Dunleavy, Jr. OR MICKAEL Pietrus). One of the major keys to the Warriors succeeding is Baron Davis staying healthy for a whole season and not chucking up too many treys because he's HORRIBLE at it.

22. New Orleans Hornets (38-44): It's obvious that Chris Paul is going to be special. The reigning Rookie of the Year performed well at the World Championships this summer and is so well regarded that the 2003 draft troika of LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, and Dwyane Wade have let Paul into their circle, known as "Our Family." Paul should get help this season, unlike last year, as the sharpshooting skills of Peja Stojakovic will be gracing the Hornets' presence. Add potential unlimited, Tyson Chandler, and this team could make some noise louder than a simple buzz.

23. Boston Celtics (33-49): Paul Pierce did a lot last season, perhaps having his best overall season in his career. The addition of a complementary perimter scorer, Wally Szczerbiak, in a trade with the Timberwolves for Ricky Davis was supposed to help ease Pierce's burden. But it didn't. The Celtics are hoping that the addition of Sebastian Telfair will solidify their point position and hope that the following players continue to develop - Al Jefferson, Kendrick Perkins, and Delonte West. If they do, the Celtics will move up this list.

24. Philadelphia 76ers (38-44): Somehow, Chris Webber not only got along with Allen Iverson for a whole season, but he actually stayed relatively healthy... and the Sixers still didn't do much. I think at best the Sixers need to hope that Samuel Dalembert can stay on the floor and that Andre Iguodala continues to trend up.