The NBA official website updated its power rankings: the 76ers rank 2nd in the East, the Lakers rank 4th in the West, while the Bucks and Kings are at the bottom of their respective conferences.

On August 5th Beijing time, the NBA official website recently updated the offseason power rankings for the Eastern and Western Conferences. The specific rankings are as follows —

East:1. Knicks, 2. 76ers, 3. Cavaliers, 4. Raptors, 5. Pistons, 6. Celtics, 7. Pacers, 8. Heat, 9. Hawks, 10. Magic, 11. Hornets, 12. Wizards, 13. Bulls, 14. Nets, 15. Bucks

West:1. Spurs, 2. Thunder, 3. Nuggets, 4. Lakers, 5. Rockets, 6. Timberwolves, 7. Suns, 8. Jazz, 9. Trail Blazers, 10. Warriors, 11. Mavericks, 12. Clippers, 13. Pelicans, 14. Grizzlies, 15. Kings

James’ departure from the Lakers to join the 76ers has drawn significant attention to the power rankings of both teams. The official website’s analysis of these two teams is as follows —

Philadelphia 76ers

Key additions: Jaylen Brown, LeBron James, Anfernee Simons, Dean Wade

Key departures: Andre Drummond, Paul George, Quentin Grimes, Kelly Oubre Jr.

The 76ers ranked 29th in the league in shot quality last season, and Jaylen Brown himself tends to take many difficult shots. Among the 182 players who attempted at least 500 field goals, Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and Brown ranked 12th lowest, 15th lowest, and 26th lowest in shot quality scores, respectively.

Upgrading the roster talent should theoretically provide everyone with better shot opportunities, but the 76ers need to improve their shot selection and increase off-ball movement compared to the habits those players have shown in the past. James is one of the league’s elite passers and might be exactly the piece needed to streamline the team’s offensive system.

The offensive flow of this lineup will be very interesting to watch, but the defensive side is likely to be a bigger concern. Embiid anchors the paint and has historically been a huge defensive presence. However, teams know they can exploit him with spacing; last season he posted the worst rim-protection numbers of his career, with opponents shooting 61.6% in the restricted area when he was defending at the rim.

Los Angeles Lakers

Key additions: Quentin Grimes, Jaden Hardy, Walker Kessler, Kevon Looney, Sandro Mamukelashvili, Collin Sexton, Ziaire Williams, Matisse Thybulle

Key departures: LeBron James, Deandre Ayton, Rui Hachimura, Jaxson Hayes, Luke Kennard, Marcus Smart

This marks the fresh start of the Luka Dončić era in Los Angeles. The Lakers’ returning players accounted for only 42% of last season’s regular-season minutes, the lowest percentage in the league. (Currently, the Clippers are the only other team with a figure below 50%.)

If Dončić plays a full season, the Lakers’ offense will be elite, but their biggest challenge remains the same as last season: the team posted the second-worst defensive performance in the past nine years, allowing 0.7 more points per 100 possessions than the league average.

When Dončić and Austin Reaves start together in the backcourt, it will be very difficult to contain the opponent’s perimeter stars.

Kessler should be able to provide better rim protection than the Lakers’ big men from last year. However, the team’s ability to achieve high-level defense—which relies on length and mobility—mainly comes from Matisse Thybulle and Ziaire Williams. But their offensive contributions are limited, and their playing time could be restricted in the playoffs.