Our friends over at ProBasketballTalk compile their NBA Power Rankings every week and they released their final rankings Monday before the regular season starts Tuesday evening.
They had the Heat ranked No. 1 (big surprise), with the Dwight-Howard-anchored Lakers No. 2 (another shocker).
But the Bulls were nowhere to be found in the Top 10. Without Derrick Rose to start the season, PBT's Kurt Helin put Chicago 13th. Here's his reasoning:
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"The Bulls are going to defend, and a pretty soft schedule to open the season means they may be able to score enough to win. They will get off to a solid start."
That seems about right. I'm curious to see where the Bulls would be ranked if Rose was healthy, however.
The Thunder come in at No. 3, followed by the Clippers and Celtics. The Pacers were eighth and are joined by the Nets (10th), Knicks (11th) and Sixers (12th) as the other Eastern Conference teams ahead of the Bulls.