Power Rankings: Lakers, Cavs mess with good thing

Updated Oct. 27

The Lakers and Cavaliers made power-packed moves over the summer in an effort to pave the way to America's dream -- a Kobe Bryant-LeBron James showdown in the NBA Finals.

There's never been such reason for optimism ... in Boston, Orlando and San Antonio.

Kobe, LeBron and their respective crews finished first and third in my season-ending NBA Power Rankings last June, bookending a Magic club that had just lost to the Lakers in the Finals.

You'd think -- especially in the case of the champs -- they'd be wise enough to leave well enough alone.

Alas, they weren't. And now their title hopes hinge on the compatibility of two broad-shouldered power sources who in the past have had a tough time sharing the spotlight.

The Lakers rushed out and hog-tied Ron Artest almost immediately after losing vastly underrated Trevor Ariza to free agency. The question is: Why?

Ariza was a perfect complement to Bryant. In other words, he busted his butt on defense and was content to stand in the corner in the offensive scheme, awaiting an opportunity to bury a couple of key 3-pointers seemingly each night.

Artest only stands in the corner when ordered there by the referee after a knockdown. His strength is his strength -- an ability to overpower traditional lightweight small forwards (like Ariza) while his four teammates stand aside.

That'll play well in Los Angeles ... if, say, Bryant were to break his leg. Just as Artest proved to be a godsend to a Houston team that took the court most nights without either Tracy McGrady or Yao Ming.

But when it comes to sharing a basketball with Bryant, or sharing valuable painted space with Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum? The Lakers are going to wish Artest would spend more time in Ariza's corner.

Likewise, the Cavs opted for the big name over the big picture in what seemed to be a no-brainer acquisition when they acquired Shaquille O'Neal from the Suns in exchange for little more than some old sneakers.

One of the NBA's greatest offensive forces of all time, O'Neal was brought in to give the Cavs greater resistance to Orlando's one-man wrecking crew, Dwight Howard. That's akin to the Red Sox importing Mariano Rivera to bat cleanup.

Can the age-slowed O'Neal slow down Superman? Probably not. And can he turn invisible to stay out of his own superhero's way at the offensive end? Not likely.

So again I ask: Why?

Maybe the Lakers recognized they backed into a title last season because of the key late-season injuries that derailed the Celtics' hopes of a repeat. And maybe the Cavs noticed the Magic -- the team that crushed their hardware-harvesting dreams last May -- upgraded from Hedo Turkoglu to Vince Carter in the offseason.

The Lakers and Cavs were right about one thing: They had some catching up to do. It says here: They failed.

With the 2008 champs and 2009's most improved Finalist at the top, here are my season-opening NBA Power Rankings for 2009-10: