One day, I was driving into work listening to the book The Wisdom of Crowds. The book was nothing if not convincing about the power of a group of experts, appropriately isolated, to pick the correct answer more often than a single or pair of experts. So – I figured if all of us blogger-types got together and created our own Power Rankings, we’d be able to put together a pretty good offering that fairly accurately reflects the state of the league.

When I got home, I sent out a request to those bloggers – some of whom decided to actually speak to me, and voila! the Blogger’s Power Rankings was born.  We’ll be coming at you from various host sites all season long, giving you the insight(maybe), witty comments(sometimes), and overall rankings for all the teams in the league.

This week, our distinguished contributers are: 3 Shades of Blue, At the Hive, BrewHoop, BulletsForever, Bright Side of the Sun, CelticsBlog, The Dream Shake, Empty The Bench, Hardwood Paroxysm, HoopsAddict, Indy Cornrows, LakersNation, Queen City Hoops, Raptors HQ, Sixers4Guidos, SLC Dunk, True Blue Jazz, and last, but not least, the TwolvesBlog

So here goes – our Collective Wisdom, such as it is:

1. Boston Celtics

• To the victor goes the spoils. – Indy Cornrows, speaking for most
• What’s with Tony Allen claiming to be better than James Posey? – HoopsAddict
• I see no reason to doubt them. It would take a LOT for that defense to even become ordinary. – Hornets247

2. Los Angeles Lakers

• Will never trade Lamar Odom because Phil Jackson needs a weed buddy. – Bullets Forever
• Show me, Bynum. I’m willing to be swayed. – Indy Cornrows
• If Bynum is healthy, 60+ wins could be easy. – Empty the Bench

3. New Orleans Hornets

• Definitely the best team to ever play in NO – The Dream Shake
• Only a Deron Williams injury puts them above the Jazz for now – SLC Dunk
• CP3 leads a strong group of role players forced into starting jobs. Is there a more overrated team in the NBA? – True Blue Jazz
• DeronWilliamsIsNotBetterThanChrisPaul. DeronWilliamsIsNotBetterThanChrisPaul. – Bullets Forever

4. Utah Jazz

• They need a sense of urgency this season… – Empty the Bench
• Apparently, Okur is in the best shape of his life – LakersNation
• A deep team that returns 13 players from last year…oh, and they have Deron Williams. – True Blue Jazz
• Is this ranking based on potential or past…putting the Jazz this high is a nod to last year. They did not improve over the summer – Bright Side of the Sun

5. Detroit Pistons

• Number of games it’ll take for this group to tune out Michael Curry: 14. – Bullets Forever
• My gut tells me the vets will rally around Michael Curry. – HoopsAddict

6. Houston Rockets

• Scary Potential. Scary Injury History. – Hornets247
• Crazy, unhealthy, no identity. 55 wins? – Raptors HQ
• Damn, damn good. I am a believer. – Sixers4Guidos

7. Cleveland Cavaliers

• Why do people continue to sleep on King James? I should probably rank them higher but I want to see how Mo Williams meshes with his new teammates. – HoopsAddict, Ranking the Cavs 7th along with the rest of us

8. San Antonio Spurs

• Gregg Popovich is secretly Kenny Rogers. – Bullets Forever
• Austin Powers: “Why won’t you die?” – SLC Dunk
• Yawn…at least we didn’t put them 1st. – True Blue Jazz

9. Philadelphia 76ers

• Overhyped – Raptors HQ
• On the rise (understatement). It’s up to Cheeks – Sixers4Guidos

10. Portland Trail Blazers

• Most fun to watch? – Raptors HQ
• Can’t wait to watch this team. Playoffs bound definitely – Sixers4Guidos

11. Orlando Magic

• I just don’t believe in Magic – Bright Side of the Sun
• Still a PG away, but I have Howard as next MVP – Sixers4Guidos

12. Phoenix Suns

• Insert old/fat Shaq joke here – LakersNation
• They’ll never win a title with Nash at PG – Empty the Bench

13. Dallas Mavericks

• Dirk + J-Ho + Kidd = 13th – Bright Side of the Sun
• Is the window closed? No, but watch your fingers or they’ll get slammed after this season. – True Blue Jazz

14. Toronto Raptors

• Watch out for the MOB (Moon, O’Neal and Bosh)! – HoopsAddict
• Calderon for Prime Minister! – Hornets247

15. Washington Wizards

• I hate Agent Zero – True Blue Jazz
• Gilbert – biggest. theif. ever. – Bright Side of the Sun

16. Denver Nuggets

• Do you think George Karl ever goes home at night and says to himself, “Damn, I miss the 2001/02 Bucks?” – Bullets Forever
• They suck – The Dream Shake

17. Chicago Bulls

• A riddle. Who knows. Really – Sixers4Guidos
• A collection of solid players that lack Genius. – Hornets247

18. Miami Heat

• They don’t have the team they had a few years ago even if their top 2 is better – The Dream Shake
• Everybody loves Wade again. – SLC Dunk

19. Indiana Pacers

• Jim O’Brien’s petition to add a four-point line failed. – Bullets Forever
• We’re solidly into “meh” territory… – Empty the Bench
• Um, they should probably be lower. – SLC Dunk

20. Atlanta Hawks

• Marvin Williams is ready to break out – Empty the Bench
• Owership issues are killing them. – Raptors HQ

21. Minnesota Timberwolves

• These Wolves are going to surprise a lot of people – LakersNation, ranking them 15th.
• Optimistic? Yes, most definitely. – Empty the Bench, ranking them 21st.

22. Sacramento Kings

• This is Kenny Thomas’ year. Book it. – Bullets Forever
• Can Kevin Martin sacrifice Quality for Quantity? – Hornets247

23. Milwaukee Bucks

• New identity. Same results. – Raptors HQ
• Look for Scott Skiles to motivate his team to play tough defense this year. The improved focus on the defensive end will mean the Bucks will be competitive every night and might just sneak into the playoffs. – HoopsAddict

24. Los Angeles Clippers

• Now that B Diddy has his big contract extension, what’s motivating him to stay healthy? Those pictures of Davis and Jessica Alba on the beach would send shivers down my spine if I were a Clippers fan. – Empty the Bench
• Baron and Kaman should be better then this and on another team they would be. But it’s still the Clippers so… -Bright Side of the Sun

25. Golden State Warriors

• Moped – Bright Side of the Sun . . . And almost everyone else too.
• And just like that, mediocrity sets back in – Empty the Bench

26. Charlotte Bobcats

• Why couldn’t Jordan suck this bad in 97-98? – SLC Dunk
• C’mon now, Adam Morrison is back! – Hornets247

27. New Jersey Nets

• Jersey gets no respect. Until they earn it. – Bright Side of the Sun
• VC mails it in quicker than UPS. – Raptors HQ

28. Memphis Grizzlies

• OJ Mayo, welcome to hell. – Raptors HQ
• Potential what, exactly? – Hornets247

29. New York Knicks

• The guidoest team in the NBA will suck, I’m sorry – Sixers4Guidos
• At least Nate Robinson can dunk. – Hornets247

30. Oklahoma City Thunder

• Where are the Sonics on this list? Am I missing something? – SLC Dunk

As is to be expected, there are a series of tiers that formed as a result of the ranking.  The difference between the Wizards and Nuggets was only 0.01. Five teams were within .5 of one another.  I think these tiers tell us something important too – so here they are:

Tier 1: Favorites

Celtics, Lakers

Tier 2: Contenders

Hornets, Jazz, Pistons

Tier 3: If Things Go Just Right

Rockets, Cavaliers, Spurs

Tier 4: Going Up . . . or Down . . or Nowhere

76ers, Blazers, Magic, Suns, Mavericks, Raptors

Tier 5: These Teams are Messed UP

Wizards, Nuggets, Bulls, Heat

Tier 6: Mediocrity

Pacers, Hawks, Timberwolves, Kings, Bucks, Clippers, Warriors, Bobcats

Tier 7: Bad, Really Bad

Nets, Knicks, Grizzlies

Tier 8: Ugh

Thunder

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