NBA power rankings for start of December

By Rick Morris

FIRST TIER

1 Indiana

2 Miami

3 San Antonio

4 Portland

5 Oklahoma City

SECOND TIER

6 Houston

7 LA Clippers

8 Denver

9 Golden State

10 Dallas

11 LA Lakers

12 Atlanta

13 Phoenix

14 Minnesota

15 Memphis

16 New Orleans

17 Washington

18 Chicago

19 Charlotte

THIRD TIER

20 Detroit

21 Toronto

22 Orlando

23 Boston

24 Philadelphia

25 Brooklyn

26 Cleveland

27 Sacramento

FOURTH TIER

28 New York

29 Milwaukee

30 Utah

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

1 SOUTHWEST 50

2 NORTHWEST 61

3 PACIFIC 67

4 SOUTHEAST 72

5 CENTRAL 94

6 ATLANTIC 121

RANKINGS BY CONFERENCE

1 WEST 178

2 EAST 287