Seventy-seven.

Seventy-five.

Those aren't temperatures in southern California in November. Those are total fouls called by replacement officials in a couple of preseason NBA games this week. An agreement needs to be reached by the league and its officials and soon or else games will be so disjointed and long that viewers will think they're watching football.

That's not the only big issue that's top of mind heading into the 2009-10 NBA season. There are a number of issues, players and teams hoop fans should watch out for.

Here are some teams on their way up heading into the new season.

Trending up

Portland Trailblazers
Had Greg Oden been able to give the Blazers anything in their first-round series with Houston last spring, Portland moves on to play - and scare - the Lakers in the second round.

The Blazers addressed some concerns this offseason that leads me to believe they may be ready for prime time. Portland added free agent point guard Andre Miller to its stable, who, at 33, will bring added stability to that roster. Miller, who put in 16 points a game and played all 82 last season, is a definite upgrade over Steve Blake, who performed admirably last season (11 points, 5 assists a night).

Adding Miller should take some of the stress away from superstar in the making Brandon Roy, which will allow Roy to freelance more on the offensive end. If Oden (19 ppg, 10.5 rpg in two preseason games) is able to be a compliment to LaMarcus Aldridge, who also broke out last season with 18.1 ppg and 7 boards a night, Portland could play deep into the playoffs. This team has length and depth that could pose problems for a lot of squads out west.

Chicago Bulls
Chris Paul, Jason Kidd and Mark Jackson were the last three point guards to win Rookie of the Year before Derrick Rose took the award last year. Each of those three court generals' stats took a solid jump in their second season, but none of them were on a team as athletic as Rose.

The Bulls played the defending champion Celtics tough in the best series of the 2009 playoffs - without their best player in Luol Deng, who has missed 52 games since the end of the 2006-07 season. If he's able to return to form (Deng averaged nearly 19 points and a shade over 7 rebounds in 2006-07), Deng and Rose could form one of the league's more dynamic wing tandems.

The scary thing about the Bulls is they don't have a lot of depth on the perimeter. If Deng goes down, who replaces that production? They do have the bodies to bang inside, though. The Bulls' roster lists nine players 6'9" and taller.

Toronto Raptors
Acquiring small forward Hedo Turkoglu in the offseason was a solid move. With that, Toronto has basically become the (really) northern version of the Orlando Magic.

The Raptors have Chris Bosh (22.7 ppg, 10 rpg in 2008-09) to play the role of Dwight Howard alongside Turkoglu, while Andrea Bargnani (15.4 points, 5.3 boards, 41 percent from 3, 83 percent from the line) will take on the role Rashard Lewis played in Orlando. Jose Calderon, in the second year of a 5-year, $45 million contract, will run the team - and is one of the underrated players in the league, in my opinion.

Like Chicago, Toronto has a wealth of bulk up front, including former Piston Amir Johnson, who I expect to contribute now that not a lot it expected of him. The Raptors backcourt depth leaves a lot to be desired. They need someone to play alongside Calderon and Jarrett Jack, who came over this summer from Indiana, isn't a starting two guard. Lottery pick DeMar DeRozan will get a chance to prove his wealth early.

Oklahoma City Thunder
This is my second-favorite team, behind the Lakers. My love for Kevin Durant is almost unhealthy. Russell Westbrook (15 points, 5 boards, 5 assists in his rookie campaign) is on his way to becoming one of the more dynamic guards in the league. And Jeff Green is rounding into one of the more versatile forwards in the association.

I really, really like this team's prospects. If the Thunder were a stock, I'd buy 1,000 shares.

The team's only drawback is that it doesn't have a veteran presence. Bruce Bowen, who I hate with a passion, retired over the summer. But he's that glue guy who guys feed off of. He doesn't put up numbers, but he plays great defense and has the ability to get under the skin of players on opposing teams. Had he signed with OKC, I would pick them to make the playoffs. That still may happen, but I can't see a team that's one of the youngest in the league (average age: 25) putting together extended winning streaks, which is what is needed to make the playoffs.

Oklahoma City's longest winning streak last season was three games. That brought them to 16-45. I can't see a team that features a player as dynamic as Durant having too many more less than stellar seasons.

Monday: Teams on the decline