NBA Team Chemistry Rankings: Preseason

Christmas Day is here, meaning that the 2011-2012 NBA regular season is ready to begin! With several moves made by teams prior to and after the lockout, team chemistry has changed for most teams.

As always, team chemistry rankings are a relative concept; in evaluating this preseason's rankings, teams were believed to be in one of three tiers: 1st-11th, 12th-22nd, or 23rd-30th. For example, while the defending champion Dallas Mavericks rank 5th in the season's first list, the Miami Heat rank 8th; both teams have had some upgrades and changes to their rosters and appear to have about the same quality of team chemistry. By ranking, the Sacramento Kings are not that far behind at 12th, but their chemistry is thought to be quite a bit behind the Mavericks and Heat.

Ranking at the top is one of the teams favored to win the NBA championship this season: the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder made minimal changes to their roster and did a good job of creating better team balance in acquiring Kendrick Perkins last season. Similarly, the Memphis Grizzlies are another young rising team that functions very well. Both teams should be in the mix for the best record in the Western Conference.

Other young teams rising in the rankings are the Sacramento Kings, Minnesota Timberwolves, Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons, and Washington Wizards. The Kings, Timberwolves, and Cavaliers should be especially exciting to watch this year with their key rookie additions.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles area teams and New York area teams (Clippers, Lakers, Knicks, and Nets) are all looking to improve their team chemistry and team capabilities this year. Of these four teams, the Lakers are the most likely to make additional roster changes to improve team balance while staying in contention for the NBA championship. At the same time, the Nets remain in the rumors in the Dwight Howard sweepstakes, but the likelihood of a trade during the season has been weakened by the injury to Brook Lopez.

Here are the full preseason team chemistry rankings (previous rankings are in parentheses):

Oklahoma City Thunder (2)
Memphis Grizzlies (3)
San Antonio Spurs (5)
Phoenix Suns (8)
Dallas Mavericks (1)
Indiana Pacers (7)
Chicago Bulls (9)
Miami Heat (12)
Boston Celtics (4)
Atlanta Hawks (10)
Portland Trail Blazers (6)
Sacramento Kings (19)
Philadelphia 76ers (14)
Orlando Magic (23)
Los Angeles Clippers (18)
Los Angeles Lakers (11)
Golden State Warriors (17)
Minnesota Timberwolves (30)
Houston Rockets (13)
Cleveland Cavaliers (26)
Detroit Pistons (27)
Washington Wizards (28)
New York Knicks (24)
Milwaukee Bucks (16)
New Jersey Nets (20)
Denver Nuggets (25)
Utah Jazz (21)
New Orleans Hornets (15)
Charlotte Bobcats (22)
Toronto Raptors (29)

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