Updated: September 27, 2013, 1:42 PM ET

Power Rankings: Heat back at No. 1

Week:
 
Team:
By Marc Stein
ESPN.com
Friday, September 27

You made it!

You survived another long, withering summer.

With seven teams holding their annual media day on this first Friday of fall, your 165-day wait for the return of ESPN.com's weekly NBA Power Rankings is mercifully over. A fresh batch of rankings is served up here with the Miami Heat taking their rightful place at the top of the ladder. The two-time reigning champions are joined in the top five by Indiana and Brooklyn in advance of what should be the tastiest race we've seen in the Eastern Conference for some time.

The West remains the far deeper conference, as it's basically been since the inception of your devoted committee (of one) starting with the 2002-03 season, but the East is where we see the most intrigue for a change, since there are potentially three teams -- depending on how closely Derrick Rose returns to his MVP best -- that can prevent Miami from even getting to a fourth successive NBA Finals.

The Heat, however, naturally start at No. 1, which is a courtesy we always extend to the champs no matter what they did in the offseason. And by now you surely know that this is where we'll meet up every Monday during the regular season to take the pulse of NBA teams from 1 down to 30, utilizing our trusted formula that computes each slot by factoring in what's happening in the present as well as that team's big-picture outlook for the season ... while always allowing for a dash of subjective whim.

Don't forget, furthermore, that this preseason edition of the rankings, as always, weighs a team's personnel successes (or failures) from the summer as well as injuries when making our calculations. That should help explain why the Pacers, Nets, Doc Rivers' Los Angeles Clippers and Dwight Howard's Houston Rockets have all climbed so high already. And also why the Kobe Bryant-less L.A. Lakers and Rajon Rondo-less Boston Celtics start so low.

The next edition of the rankings is scheduled for Oct. 28, on the eve of opening night, after we use the next month to get a better feel for everyone during exhibition play. Comment below on the rankings, which are compiled with ever-helpful dishing from ESPN Stats & Info and the Elias Sports Bureau.

Editor's note: The "Last Week" category below is from the final Power Rankings of 2012-13 in April, while "Record" reflects how the team finished last season.

2013-14 Power Rankings: Training Camp
RANKTEAM / RECORD COMMENTS
1
Miami
66-16
The Heat, with zero financial flexibility, have spruced up the roster as much as they feasibly could have by adding Oden and Beasley. It says here they'll cope just fine with LeBron's looming free agency, too. The real issue is going to be getting out of the East, which is going to be way harder.
2
Indiana
49-32
I'm super high on Indy and for once it has nothing to do with thoughts of the inimitable shrimp cocktail at St. Elmo's. Sprinkle in Danny Granger and Luis Scola from an upgraded bench with the freshly maxed-out Paul George and playoffs Roy Hibbert and you've got a legit title-contending mix.
3
Can J-Kidd coach? Can J-Kidd, with zero experience and facing championship expectations, coach a team that will spend nearly $190 million in salary and luxury taxes this season? I know this much: I've seen J-Kidd, at age 38, guard Kobe and Durant in the playoffs. So I know he won't be scared.
4
The opportunity is there to do something far more significant than worry about the unwinnable battle for L.A. bragging rights with the Lakers. You'd obviously like the Clips' chances better if KG and Pierce arrived in tow with Doc Rivers, but they've got a team now that can win the whole West.
5
I've said it a zillion times: Let somebody else write the Spurs off. Yet like everyone else, I do wonder about how they'll bounce back mentally and how they'll physically handle another nine-month grind. Don't forget these guys have actually endured two successive heartbreaking postseasons.
6
Houston
45-37
Houston won the summer ... or, at worst, shares Best Offseason honors with Brooklyn. They probably need one season together before we really see the Rockets threatening to win the West, but they are also never really done making moves. So stay tuned to see what they get for Asik.
7
Leaguewide appreciation for Russell Westbrook after the injury misfortune that knocked him out of the playoffs is at an all-time peak. The team outlook, though, seems gloomier than ever since the Thunder landed in OKC, thanks to the limitations of the cast around Durant, Ibaka and Russ.
8
Chicago
45-37
The respect (fear?) Las Vegas has for Derrick Rose always impresses me. The Bulls' visit to Miami on opening night will mark Rose's first game in 549 days, but you won't find Chicago lower than third or fourth in the Sin City sports books when it comes to ranking 2013-14 championship odds.
9
Memphis
56-26
Of the whopping 13 new coaches in this league, other than Jason Kidd, no one faces more immediate pressure than Dave Joerger. Will be interesting to see how many times Memphis, with the untested Joerger in Lionel Hollins' seat, gets to No. 1 here after topping ESPN's franchise standings.
10
Yup: I'm one of those worriers who fear the Dubs surrendered too much of their crucial chemistry when they sacrificed Jarrett Jack and Carl Landry to make room for Andre Iguodala. The easiest way for them to shut me up: Andrew Bogut and David Lee making splashy returns from injury.
11
Who thinks they're going to win 54 games again? Not I. The top half of the East is significantly more competitive, which means that the Knicks better get something out of Amar'e Stoudemire and Andrea Bargnani -- as well as Metta World Peace and a full-strength Iman Shumpert -- to keep up.
12
Atlanta
44-38
For all our giddiness about how good the upper crust of the East can be this season, let's not get carried away. The East's No. 6, No. 7 and No. 8 seeds are up for grabs and the Hawks, just by signing Paul Millsap and Elton Brand on bargain deals to flank Al Horford, should still be a playoff team.
13
Fearlessly predicting Love, Rubio and Pekovic will log more than the 13 minutes of court time they shared as a trio last season. With Adelman back and Kev Martin/C. Brewer coming in, you'd go ahead and call this a playoff team, too, if you knew the Wolves could finally stay reasonably healthy.
14
Dallas
41-41
One of the toughest teams on the board to forecast. For all the justifiable hand-wringing over what Dallas didn't get done in free agency for a second straight summer, you can't ignore that this team went 41-41 last season with Dirk missing 29 games. And the new roster is undeniably stronger.
15
The Blazers insist Lillard, Batum and Aldridge are their core trio. Speculation persists it'll eventually be Lillard, Batum and whatever they get back in an Aldridge trade. What matters most for now is whether they have enough depth around those three to crack the West's top eight. We shall see.
16
Denver
57-25
When rankings season ended last April, Denver had been so hot for so long in the spring that it finished a lofty No. 3. You can scarcely recognize this team now with no George Karl, no Andre Iguodala, no Masai Ujiri ... and a roster seemingly destined for the bottom half of the rankings this term.
17
Camp hasn't even started in the nation's capital and already there's an injury (Emeka Okafor's neck) to fill the air with gloom. Maybe John Wall and Bradley Beal can lift it if they start fast and keep blossoming as a tandem, but you can't halt a run of five straight non-playoff seasons without size.
18
Detroit
29-53
The Pistons only add to that East-is-more-intriguing vibe after importing J-Smoove and B-Jennings to team up with Monroe and Drummond. Just not sure locals who remember the glory days will be satisfied with League Pass Darlings status. Or a coach (Mo Cheeks) no one else was pursuing.
19
The Cavs take a fascinating assemblage of talent into their fourth season post-LeBron. But this is another team that really needs (deserves?) some extended health so we actually get to see how it looks with Kyrie, Waiters, Bennett, T. Thompson, Varejao and Bynum on the same squad.
20
The committee (of one) has indeed reached the point where we instinctively say and write Pelicans. Not there yet, though, when it comes to proclaiming New Orleans playoff material. The pieces are undeniably promising but The Unibrow, Jrue, Tyreke & Co. still have a lot of meshing to do.
21
Sorry, folks. Won't pretend I've got a great fix on this group's ceiling -- since we don't know how soon we'll see Kobe Bryant -- but I ain't buyin' that the Lakers have lost their luster because one marquee free agent jilted them. Get your shots in while you can. Cause (Arnold voice) they'll be back.
22
How many of you, back in April, thought we'd see the Kings' logo on this list? Five months later? One of their most hated rivals just announced to the world that his new home is "Shaqramento." So before we even get into this season's prospects, let's just let Sac-Town revel in the moment.
23
Toronto
34-48
This week's announcement that the 2016 All-Star Game is Toronto-bound came as welcome news to your Canada-loving rankings curator. The Raps could make this a lot easier with a return to relevance, but now I'm guaranteed a trip to one of my favorite cities on Earth ... in a mere three-plus years.
24
Orlando
20-62
It's not often that the committee has to rethink things, but initial cool reviews of the Magic's post-Dwight Howard plan might have been premature. GM Hennigan has amassed coveted youngsters (Vucevic, Tobias Harris, Oladipo, Harkless) and managed to sell his fan base on a patient approach.
25
Utah
43-39
The Jazz have to feel fortunate. They let both of their marquee free agents walk in free agency, have committed to playing kids with Jefferson and Millsap gone and nonetheless appear to have widespread support from their fan base even with lots of losses ahead in the short term. Special.
26
Our own Kevin Arnovitz wrote a comprehensive piece this month explaining why Senator Kohl cannot bear to let the Bucks bottom out in the quest for lottery salvation like the Phoenixes, Orlandos and Phillys of this world. But do you see 'em making the playoffs with the squad they've got?
27
Boston
41-40
They have to trade Rajon Rondo. You know it, I know it, everyone in basketball knows it. In the interim, though, hats off to Danny Ainge. By hiring Brad Stevens, he's found a way to keep the Celts riveting for the Boston die-hards while he's in the midst of all these tricky rebuilding transactions.
28
They'll only be the Bobcats for one more season, after which we'll see how long it takes us to get used to saying Hornets again. In the meantime: What's with all the Al Jefferson naysayers? His deal is not a crippler. And he's the frontcourt scorer the Bobcats haven't had since they were the Hornets.
29
Phoenix
25-57
The plan, Phoenix insists, is to play Goran Dragic and Eric Bledsoe together in the backcourt. Which is intriguing enough to get us tuning in -- especially when you throw in Jeff Hornacek as a rookie coach -- even though the same plan calls for stockpiling draft picks and essentially starting over.
30
Philly didn't hire Brett Brown as coach until Aug. 14 and was the first team openly associated with tanking for Andrew Wiggins. None of that will earn the Sixers even one extra pingpong ball, but perhaps we can soften the blow of their consensus No. 30 status by calling them trendsetters?

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