NBA power rankings for mid-December

By Rick Morris

NOTES: Rankings from start of season are in parentheses.

TOP TIER

1 LA Lakers (1)

2 Milwaukee (2)

SECOND TIER

3 Philadelphia (8)

4 Miami (5)

5 LA Clippers (7)

6 Boston (6)

7 Dallas (9)

8 Toronto (3)

9 Denver (4)

10 Houston (10)

11 Indiana (11)

THIRD TIER

12 Utah (12)

FOURTH TIER

13 Brooklyn (14)

FIFTH TIER

14 Phoenix (16)

15 Orlando (18)

16 Sacramento (17)

17 Detroit (22)

18 Oklahoma City (19)

19 Minnesota (13)

20 San Antonio (23)

21 Charlotte (21)

22 Portland (20)

23 Chicago (15)

24 Memphis (25)

SIXTH TIER

25 Washington (24)

SEVENTH TIER

26 New Orleans (26)

27 Atlanta (28)

28 Cleveland (27)

29 New York (29)

30 Golden State (30)

BIGGEST RISERS: Detroit and Philadelphia (5 spots), Orlando and San Antonio (3 spots)

BIGGEST FALLERS: Chicago (8 spots), Minnesota (6 spots), Denver and Toronto (5 spots)

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

1 EAST 232

2 WEST 233