NBA power rankings for mid-December

By Rick Morris

NOTES: Rankings from start of season are in parentheses.

TOP TIER

1 Golden State (1)

2 San Antonio (3)

3 Cleveland (2)

SECOND TIER

4 Houston (9)

5 Toronto (5)

6 LA Clippers (4)

THIRD TIER

7 Utah (11)

8 Memphis (7)

9 Oklahoma City (10)

FOURTH TIER

10 Boston (8)

11 Charlotte (12)

12 Milwaukee (15)

13 New York (19)

14 Indiana (14)

15 Chicago (6)

16 Detroit (18)

17 Washington (23)

18 Atlanta (13)

19 Portland (17)

FIFTH TIER

20 Orlando (21)

21 Denver (20)

SIXTH TIER

22 Sacramento (24)

23 Los Angeles Lakers (16)

SEVENTH TIER

24 Miami (27)

25 New Orleans (22)

26 Minnesota (25)

27 Phoenix (26)

28 Brooklyn (28)

29 Dallas (29)

30 Philadelphia (30)

BIGGEST RISERS: New York and Washington (6 spots), Houston (5 spots), Utah (4 spots), Miami and Milwaukee (3 spots)

BIGGEST FALLERS: Chicago (9 spots), Los Angeles Lakers (7 spots), Atlanta (5 spots), New Orleans (3 spots)

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

1 WEST 229

2 EAST 236