Alright, I hadn't weighed in yet at any point. But I'm starting to put my thoughts together. Here's my top ten in alphabetical order for now, more notes to come:
Atlanta Hawks
Golden State Warriors - The league's best young center and its' best veteran point guard; which last time I checked said positions were still the fulcrum and the lever. Add to that a pair of live wire young scorers; and two of the NBA's meanest? Team has honest to god balance. Team gets added consideration for being somehow still underrated. That said, Larry Hughes, Stromile Swift and Yi Jianlian have about as much talent between them as any three players in the league that don't actually matter.
Houston Rockets
Los Angeles Clippers
cough, Mrmfis Girzzlys, cough
Minnesota Timberwolves
New Jersey Nets - Three vet starters that threaten 20+ points whenever with a point guard, who remains - however much his reputation suffered last season - our best improviser. As much as I love David West alongside Paul Pierce (Remember how well Gomes played off of him?), I worry about Pierce next to Maggette. Also Corey doesn't fit into the team's overriding aesthetic of toughness belayed by softening middles. Oh, and, I am putting the league on notice, the obvious weaknesses of the starting lineup cannot be hand waived away by the sixth man. Drew Gooden does only so much to improve NJN's vague interior presence. P.S. A more acceptable answer in this case: Kidd is first among PGs in rebounding and Pierce manages nicely on the low post.
New York Knicks
Orlando Magic - Tim Duncan has never missed the playoffs, never not made it out of the first round. He and Miller are two of the best passing bigs. Billups is stalwart. Danny Granger is multi-faceted, and now puts up the numbers of a guy that probably ought to receive 3rd Team honors but doesn't. That's four-fifths of a championship contender with great ball movement, size, defense. But somewhat inexplicably there are no shooting guard to be found anywhere. Matt Harpring no longer plays the two; Dorrell Wright never played there; Delonte West is at his worst when asked to play both.
Utah Jazz