The new season is about to begin, and ESPN has also made a power prediction ranking for the new season as in previous years.

But what all fans didn't expect was that ESPN's list ranked the Cavaliers at the top of the list!

1. The Cavaliers

The departure of Kyrie Irving and the addition of Paul George have made the strength of this team rise instead of decreasing, the flanks of George and LeBron will be the strongest flanks in the league, and the addition of "Flash" Wade makes them stronger than their opponents in each position!

It's probably the strongest team in NBA history, and we can't ignore the likes of Shamppert, J.R. Smith, Korver, Tristan Thompson, Jeff Green, and others off the bench.

They are likely to take the new season out of the equation and they will be the favourites to win the championship.

2. The Warriors

The Warriors, who have four All-Stars, are looking forward to seeing how they will play in the new season after a run-in from last season.

Warriors head coach Kerr revealed in the offseason that he will use Curry and Durant's pick-and-roll offense more in the new season, which will cause the two superstars to have the greatest chemistry.

And their offseason reinforcements are also very targeted, signing Nick Young and McGee, strengthening the interior and outside, and they will be the team that will have the biggest impact on the Cavaliers in the new season.

3. Pelicans

The additions of Butler and Walker make the Pelicans look stronger than ever, but this is their first season, and the run-in and chemistry will be their biggest problem, and Walker's defense will be a big problem compared to Holiday before him.

Of course, the biggest problem is the problem of play, all four people are ball-holding style of play, to paraphrase the most popular phrase, one ball is not enough for them, considering Butler's thorny character, this team is likely to end up playing 1+1+1+1<4.

Whether it's for Don, or the other three, or for Pelicans management, the new season is their chance to complete their dynasty, and it is also their biggest test.

4. Mavericks

The loss of Butler looks like it's going to take them down, but the reality is that they traded away the team's biggest thorn, got what could be the most modest All-Star, Holiday and Jokic with a limitless future.

Carlisle is the second coach in the league after Popovich, and he's proven it in the past, just think of the 2011 championship and now that the Mavericks have an all-time strong roster, Carlisle will have the richest season of his coaching career.

Perhaps compared to the Pelicans, they are the team that has more strength to challenge for the championship.

5. Team Rocket

Cousins' season reimbursement has seen them drop out of the first echelon, but Capela's stellar preseason performance shows that he's ready.

And compared to Cousins, Capela is more mobile, and they have a very talented Zhou Qi behind them.

Add to that Ariza who was traded in the offseason.

This team looks less talented, but the line-up is more reasonable, and there is reason to believe that they will play better.

6. Thunder

7. Bucks

8. Trail Blazers

……

This strength was ranked, and social media exploded instantly.

"Damn, the Pelicans are third?! ESPN: Are you serious?! ”

"It's not that I want to squirt, it's that you're so blind! You tell me about tacit understanding and chemistry? 30 points in the half to abuse the Bucks, are we watching an NBA?! ”

"It's also Butler's head, this Nima is talking nonsense with her eyes open! Butler is Don's fan! You didn't watch the game, you went to watch the preseason video! ”

"What's even more nonsense is that the Warriors are still in front of the Pelicans, and the Pelicans have won with that lineup like last season, which is the second in line!"

"Isn't the funniest thing about the fact that the Mavericks have less chance of a championship than the Pelicans?"

"The Rockets will play better than last season......

"Guys, don't panic, it's just ESPN's website hacked!"

"I think this list is no problem, don't compare blindly with you keyboard warriors!" Statements from Harrell fans.

"That's it, these keyboard warriors know that they talk on paper, they don't look at the run-in and tacit understanding at all, Wade and LeBron are brothers, Durant is also more integrated into the team, they are better than the Pelicans!" Statements from West fans.

"That's right, that's right, and the Pelicans will have Walker and Butler's contracts expire next year, and they will have to pay a maximum salary, such fans will blow up next year, and they will definitely have to grab the ball in the contract year, and it will definitely be a mess when the time comes!" Statements from Forbes fans.

……

“Fxck！”

Durant couldn't help but explode when he saw the discussion on social media.

When he first registered the series trumpet, he found out that the Pelicans' role players were registered.

These trumpets have been active since the offseason and are now popping up again.

The trumpets before him were speculated to be him, and he rarely used them, and now I don't know who it is, obviously throwing the pot at him!

But this kind of thing can only suffer a dark loss.

It's not entirely bad, though, because at least the media ranked the Warriors ahead of the Pelicans and gave him some confidence.

He failed last season, and if he can dry the four-star Pelicans, it will definitely be cool for a long, long time.

……

ESPN's prediction caused a new round of public opinion, and it was in this discussion that the curtain of the 2017~2018 season officially opened.

Because of the strength of the Pelicans, and because of ESPN's prediction, fans have paid unprecedented attention to the Pelicans.

You must know that in the eyes of fans, ESPN is just a gimmick, and the new season is not enough to see other teams except the Pelicans.

The Pelicans' first game against the Thunder.

In ESPN's power rankings, the Thunder, although they do not form a big three, are still ranked sixth with the addition of Griffin, which is higher than the Bucks.

The Bucks were beaten twice by the Pelicans in the preseason, and fans are looking forward to the opener.

On the night of the game, according to ESPN and TNT, the Pelicans' opener ratings broke an all-time high before the game even started.

Correspondingly, the opening games of the other sessions were almost unattended.

The Pelicans really focused everyone's attention and deprived the other teams of their interests all at once.

This level of attention is to be expected.

There has never been a Pelicans with such a strong lineup in history, and no matter how ESPN deliberately goes black, the fans' eyes are not blind.

Tang Tian was the first person in the alliance to defend for a while.

Butler has a burst of defense, and the top 10 in the league is close to the top five.

Davis has three teams and two defenses, and the top 20 in the league is close to the top 10.

Walker has three lineups, top 20 in the league.

Not to mention the strength and tacit understanding, last season's individual honors alone are incomparable.

Not to mention the four preseason games, Siakam, Dedmon, Bojan, Brogdon, Kuzma, Harrell and others have all proven themselves one after another.

And the regular season is not a preseason, the Pelicans abused the Bucks Big Three in the preseason, and now the opener is playing the dual-core Thunder, which is exciting to think about.