NBA Team Previews

The Celtics know their "Big Three" has a limited shelf life, and they're making the most of it. This season they add Rasheed Wallace to the Kevin Garnett/Paul Pierce/Ray Allen core, and have to be considered one of the leading contenders for the 2010 NBA Title. But just like last year, their championship hopes depend on staying healthy...

Led by 2009 Rookie of the Year Derrick Rose, the Bulls are a team on the rise. Do they have the right parts around their floor leader to compete this season?

The Cavs were unbeatable for most of last season -- compiling the NBA's best record and a stunning 39-2 mark at home.

The in-season acquisition of Colorado native Chauncey Billups helped turn a high-scoring soap opera into a Western Conference title contender. What will George Karl and the Nuggets do for an encore?

The Pistons have been perennial contenders for the better part of the last decade, thanks in part to continuity. Their top five players -- Chauncey Billups, Rip Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince and Rasheed Wallace and Antonio McDyess -- had been together for years. But team president Joe Dumars jump-started a rebuilding program last year, trading Billups and McDyess to the Nuggets for Allan Iverson. Less than a year later, the Pistons bear very little resemblance to the squad that tipped off last season.

Not long ago that the Warriors, led by Baron Davis and coach Don Nelson, were the toast of the NBA. Now, they rival the Raiders for the title of "most dysfunctional team in pro sports." And things may get worse before they get better.

With an emerging star in Danny Granger and a solid supporting cast, the Pacers have the talent to compete for a playoff spot in the East... if they can stay healthy. But that's a significant caveat - last year's Pacer team was decimated by injury, and the 2009-10 team is already missing key players.

After landing the top prospect in this year's draft and making roster changes to remove some bad apples, things were looking up for the Clippers. Briefly.

This year's Lakers seem poised to, at the very least, make a run at yet another title, but the team has at least one major question to answer -- how will Ron Artest fit in?

The Grizzlies made two of the most controversial moves of the offseason, adding veterans Allen Iverson and Zach Randolph to a very young and promising core.