NBA power rankings for mid-January

By Rick Morris

 

Previous rankings are in parentheses, from start of season to present.

 

TOP TIER

1 Golden State (2-1)

2 Atlanta (10-4)

SECOND TIER

3 Portland (4-3)

4 Memphis (1-5)

THIRD TIER

5 Dallas (7-7)

6 Houston (6-9)

7 Washington (9-6)

8 LA Clippers (8-10)

9 Toronto (3-2)

10 Chicago (11-8)

FOURTH TIER

11 San Antonio (5-13)

12 Phoenix (12-12)

FIFTH TIER

13 Milwaukee (14-15)

14 Cleveland (13-11)

15 Oklahoma City (22-17)

16 New Orleans (18-14)

17 Denver (17-19)

18 Miami (16-18)

SIXTH TIER

19 Detroit (29-27)

20 Charlotte (28-25)

21 Sacramento (15-20)

22 Brooklyn (20-16)

23 Indiana (19-21)

24 Utah (23-22)

25 Boston (24-23)

26 Orlando (21-24)

27 LA Lakers (27-26)

SEVENTH TIER

28 Philadelphia (30-28)

29 Minnesota (25-29)

30 New York (26-30)

 

BIGGEST RISERS: Detroit (8 spots), Charlotte (5 spots), Houston (3 spots)

 

BIGGEST FALLERS: Toronto (7 spots), Brooklyn (6 spots), Cleveland (3 spots)

 

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

 

1 SOUTHWEST 42

2 SOUTHEAST 63

3 PACIFIC 69

4 CENTRAL 83

5 NORTHWEST 88

6 ATLANTIC 114

 

RANKINGS BY CONFERENCE

1 WEST 199

2 EAST 260