SI Power Rankings before tip off.

[Jballer]

Dollinger.

http://www.si.com/nba/2014/10/20/nba...purs-cavaliers

I am not sure I follow his thinking in the power rankings.

I mean I know win / loss records do not equal power rankings which tend to be part science / part art / part gut feeling.

However:

Raps come in 15th which given the power brokers in the west in not terribly out of place...but

Raps come in behind Bulls. Debatable and the games will tell.... but

Raps come in behind Charlotte and Washington.

I frankly do not see soft wins over Philly and Boston for example setting up a subpar Raptors team.

In fact with out depth I would expect to take the season series verse the Hornets... I do admit the Wizards "concern me a bit if they get it put together from game 1"...

[RAPSCANWIN]

I think there is a fine line between the 9th & 15th slots in this power ranking. Raps could have been ranked higher, but theres arguements to be made for the teams ranked ahead of them to be there.

Only team I personally didnt like ahead of the Raps, was the Suns. I don't think they will be as good this year. They won't be sneaking up on anyone like they did last year.

You mentioned Chicago as being ranked too high, but I think the addition of Pau Gasol really elevates that team along with a healthy Rose. They would be my dark horse right now to win the East.

[Legends66NBA7]

Only team I personally didnt like ahead of the Raps, was the Suns. I don't think they will be as good this year. They won't be sneaking up on anyone like they did last year.

Funny thing is, the basketball community (including Raptor fans) say the Raps snuck up on everyone last year and lucked out because the East was hurt.

To me, I don't believe in sneaking up. Either your prepared to go into a game and win or your not. The Suns were supposed to be a bottom 5 team in the NBA last year and 2nd worst in the West. They got the same record the Raptors did in a much tougher conference while Eric Bledsoe missed almost half the season. If Bledsoe was healthy (70+ games), the Suns would have won 50+ games and made the playoffs. If they were in the East, they would have probably been a Top 3 seed. Infact, you could make the case they were a Top 10 team overall last season despite missing the playoffs. They have more than a case over the Raps.

But I'll say this going into the next season. They are going to have a problem getting playing time for Dragic, Bledsoe, and Isaiah Thomas. Suns should have never spend so much of their cap on 3 guards who are basically all PG's (Dragic plays SG in the starting lineup), while Tyler Ennis waiting as well. I also don't think they have much defensive upside either on that team.

[BRabbiT]

SI Power Rankings: Regular Season Opener Edition

1. Cleveland
2. San Antonio
3. Chicago
4. LAC
5. Dallas
6. Golden State
7. Houston
8. TORONTO

9. Portland
10. Memphis
11. Washington
12. Brooklyn
13. Phoenix
14. Miami
15. Oklahoma City
16. Charlotte

17. Atlanta
18. Denver
19. New Orleans
20. New York
21. Detroit
22. Sacramento
23. Orlando
24. Minnesota
25. LAL
26. Boston
27. Utah
28. Milwaukee
29. Indiana
30. Philadelphia

[QUOTE][I]"Believing in yourselves can be the difference between winning 40 games and winning a division, but a team needs to have familiarity & real talent to become a legitimate contender in this league. Toronto is teetering on the edge of having the deadly combination of all three of those traits.

Toronto definitely believes in themselves & made the leap last season to win their division. They

[Qwyjibo]

This is the first time in forever where I feel that the Raptors should make it to the 2nd round and have an outside chance of getting to the conference finals. The depth is there this year. The rest is down to avoiding any catastrophic injuries and the development of Valanciunas and Ross. But mostly Valanciunas.

Assuming everyone is healthy, Cleveland and Chicago are the top two in the East. The Raptors are in that next "group" with Washington, Charlotte and Atlanta and IMO, have a good argument for being the best out of those.

[kmart]

This is the first time in forever where I feel that the Raptors should make it to the 2nd round and have an outside chance of getting to the conference finals. The depth is there this year. The rest is down to avoiding any catastrophic injuries and the development of Valanciunas and Ross. But mostly Valanciunas.

Assuming everyone is healthy, Cleveland and Chicago are the top two in the East. The Raptors are in that next "group" with Washington, Charlotte and Atlanta and IMO, have a good argument for being the best out of those.

This is the first time I've heard Q being high on the Raps in a while

[RaininThrees]

This is the first time I've heard Q being high on the Raps in a while

I've been MIA, and now I'm concerned for him.

[kwajo]

Same here, maybe we should call the authorities in case this is identity theft.

[Burgz V2]

This is the first time I've heard Q being high on the Raps in a while

[Qwyjibo]

So, should be an easy win tonight, right guys? A deep conference contender vs the Magic? No reason to expect anything else. The window for success might not be huge with no superstar talent but these next 2 years or so should be a decent run.

[COLOR="White"]Hail Satan! [/COLOR]