TOP TO BOTTOM NBA

Team (Record): Comment (Last week’s position)

1. Utah (21-7): Upset NBC won’t show next game until

April 17 (when Jazz plays Lakers.) (1)

2. Miami (19-8): There you go again: Mt. St. Zo blows

top, gets tossed in loss to Pacers. (2)

3. Portland (22-5): Schedule helps: Trail Blazers won’t play next

winning team on road until April 8. (3)

4. Orlando (20-9): Hardaway and Daly make up. That will

keep Penny happy for a week or so. (4)

5. Indiana (19-8): Good news/bad news: Pacers’ second unit

is almost as good as their first. (5)

6. Houston (20-9): Almost Hakeem of old: Olajuwon averaged

16 points in February, 20 in March. (8)

7. San Antonio (19-10): Spurs just played Nuggets four times

in 18 days, outscored them by 90. (6)

8. Lakers (19-11): As Shakespeare once said, something

is rotten in Denmark and Lakerdom. (7)

9. Atlanta (18-11): Lenny wonders why fans aren’t excited:

Hint: Try watching your games. (10)

10. New York (16-13): Jeff Van Gundy’s initials also stand

for Just Vanishing Gradually. (11)

11. Philadelphia (15-13): Say what you want about Brown, but last

season at this point, 76ers were 7-21. (9)

12. Minnesota (16-12): Only day worse than loss to Clippers

was when team said it’d move to New Orleans. (12)

13. Seattle (14-12): Baker out. How’d you like to pay him

$90 million based on this season? (13)

14. Milwaukee (15-12): Sam (I Am Not) Cassell returns for 26

minutes, sprains his ankle again. (14)

15. Detroit (16-12): Bison sighting: Embattled philosopher

gets 18 in victory over Bucks. (15)

16. Cleveland (14-12): Kemp twins picking it up: 19.8 average

is highest in Shawn’s career. (16)

17. Toronto (13-14): Now Raptors are beating quality teams,

like the Spurs, on the road. (19)

18. Phoenix (14-15): Oops: Have $94 million tied up in Googs

and Longley, who can’t score in low post. (17)

19. Sacramento (13-16): Only teams averaging more than 100

are King and Clipper opponents. (18)

20. Charlotte (11-15): Eddie! Eddie! Eddie! Averaging 18 points

for first nine games as a Hornet. (21)

21. Golden State (12-16): Raptors have a few vets, lots of kids.

With Warriors, it’s vice versa. (22)

22. Washington (12-16): Bickerstaff: Sometimes you’re pigeon

and sometimes you’re the statue. (23)

23. Boston (9-17): Dive, dive, dive (cont.): Looks like Pitino

has sights set on a high pick. (20)

24. Dallas (10-20): Not all the progress you’d like:

Nowitzki plays 17 minutes in four games. (26)

25. Chicago (8-20): Insiders think Krause wants Szczerbiak,

but No. 5 pick may be too late. (24)

26. Denver (7-22): Insiders say Nuggets won’t re-sign

Van Exel if he agrees to play for free. (27)

27. New Jersey (5-23): Rubbing it in: Former area prep star

Harrington helps Pacers beat Nets. (25)

28. Vancouver (5-23): Not that Grizzlies have quit, but Clippers

have won more in last four weeks. (28)

29. Clippers (3-24): Kandy Man Can: After a slow start

Olowokandi starting to happen (29)

GAME OF THE WEEK

NEW YORK AT LAKERS

When--Today. Time--3:30 p.m. TV--Channel 4.

* Story line--Latest edition of The Young, The Restless and the Intermittently Present. The Knicks are an old conglomerate, built around a proud veteran, Patrick Ewing, carrying impossible expectations, trying to fight their way out of the middle of the pack. Who knows what the Lakers will be today?