NBA power rankings for start of April

By Rick Morris

NOTE: Rankings from mid-March in parentheses.

TOP TIER

1 San Antonio (1)

2 Chicago (2)

3 Los Angeles Lakers (3)

4 Miami (6)

5 Dallas (5)

6 Boston (4)

THIRD TIER

7 Oklahoma City (8)

8 Orlando (7)

9 Denver (9)

10 Memphis (13)

11 Portland (12)

12 New Orleans (10)

13 Atlanta (11)

FOURTH TIER

14 Houston (17)

15 Philadelphia (16)

16 New York (15)

17 Phoenix (14)

18 Indiana (20)

19 Utah (18)

20 Charlotte (21)

21 Golden State (19)

22 Milwaukee (23)

23 Los Angeles Clippers (22)

FIFTH TIER

24 Detroit (24)

SIXTH TIER

25 Sacramento (29)

26 New Jersey (25)

27 Toronto (26)

28 Washington (28)

SEVENTH TIER

29 Minnesota (27)

30 Cleveland (30)

BIGGEST RISERS: Sacramento (4 spots), Houston and Memphis (3 spots)

BIGGEST FALLERS: Phoenix (3 spots)

RANKINGS BY DIVISION – 1 POINT PER RANKING SPOT FOR EACH INDIVIDUAL TEAM, LOWEST SCORE IS BEST

1 Southwest (42)

2 Southeast (73)

3 Northwest (75)

4 Pacific (89)

5 Atlantic (90)

6 Central (96)

RANKINGS BY CONFERENCE

1 West (206)

2 East (259)