NBA power rankings for start of December

By Rick Morris

NOTE: Start of season rankings are in parentheses.

FIRST TIER

1 Miami (2)

2 New York (10)

3 San Antonio (4)

4 Memphis (6)

5 Oklahoma City (3)

6 Brooklyn (14)

SECOND TIER

7 LA Clippers (5)

8 Golden State (23)

9 Atlanta (13)

10 Philadelphia (15)

11 Chicago (9)

THIRD TIER

12 Boston (8)

13 Milwaukee (19)

14 LA Lakers (1)

15 Houston (16)

16 Utah (18)

17 Indiana (7)

18 Denver (12)

19 Dallas (11)

20 Minnesota (20)

21 Charlotte (30)

FOURTH TIER

22 Phoenix (25)

23 Portland (17)

24 Orlando (27)

25 Detroit (26)

26 Sacramento (28)

27 Toronto (24)

28 Cleveland (21)

29 New Orleans (22)

FIFTH TIER

30 Washington (29)

BIGGEST RISERS: Golden State (15 spots), Charlotte (9 spots), Brooklyn and New York (8 spots), Milwaukee (6 spots), Philadelphia (5 spots), Atlanta (4 spots), Orlando and Phoenix (3 spots)

BIGGEST FALLERS: LA Lakers (13 spots), Indiana (10 spots), Dallas (8 spots), Cleveland and New Orleans (7 spots), Denver and Portland (6 spots), Boston (4 spots), Toronto (3 spots)

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

1 ATLANTIC 57

2 SOUTHWEST 70

3 PACIFIC 77

4 NORTHWEST 82

5 SOUTHEAST 85

6 CENTRAL 94

RANKINGS BY CONFERENCE

1 WEST 229

2 EAST 236