NBA / TOP TO BOTTOM

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

1. Chicago (54-17): Bulls are 20-2 post-break with Rodman at center, when he feels like playing. (1)

2. Utah (53-17): High Noon in the West: Jazz and SuperSonics in a showdown Tuesday in Seattle. (3)

3. Seattle (53-18): Baker totals 39 in losses to Warriors, Suns, Lakers, 21 under his average. (2)

4. Lakers (50-20): Dear Nick: Leadership means letting the man put you back in the lineup. (4)

5. Miami (50-21): Jordan calls Mourning bully. Imagine how much he’d hate Heat if it was an actual threat. (5)

6. Indiana (49-21): Bird must have been fun after home loss to Rockets without Barkley, Drexler. (6)

7. Charlotte (45-25): Cowens won Hornet-record 54 last year, can match it with a 9-3 finish. (7)

8. San Antonio (48-23): Admiral left averaging 23 to Duncan’s 19. Since his return, it’s 21 and 24. (8)

9. Phoenix (46-25): Suns OK with first-round matchup: They beat Spurs in season series, 3-1. (9)

10. Atlanta (41-28): 8,000 buy no-view tickets to be there in case that was Jordan’s last visit. (10)

11. New York (40-32): If Knicks slip rung, or Heat does, its them and Riley in the first round! (12)

12. Cleveland (39-31): 7-2 run puts it back on Knicks’ heels and Cavaliers have the easier schedule. (13)

13. Portland (39-31): Trail Blazers went 3-7 when Stoudamire went out, took franchise’s heart with him. (11)

14. Houston (37-33): All depends on Olajuwon and he has scored only 20 in 12 of his 37 games. (14)

15. Minnesota (37-34): The return of Anthony Peeler: Averaging 17 a game in last five as starter. (16)

16. Washington (36-35): Who’s only playoff contender to beat the Bulls and lose to the Nuggets? (17)

17. Detroit (34-37): 6-2 run puts Pistons back in East race, but they have to leapfrog three clubs. (19)

18. Orlando (36-35): Average starter in 1995 finals was 25; average starter last week was 33. (18)

19. New Jersey (36-35): Oops: Cassell in funk after run-in with Calipari and Williams is gone for good. (15)

20. Boston (31-39): Three remain from team Pitino took over. How many will be back next fall? (20)

21. Milwaukee (30-40): Not that life on tundra doesn’t suit him, but Brandon says he might retire. (22)

22. Philadelphia (25-45): Countdown to next blowup: 76ers went 11-9 after break, but they’re 0-5 since. (21)

23. Sacramento (26-46): Eddie Jordan, who fought off gloom, runs out of things to say in 2-17 swoon. (23)

24. Dallas (18-53): Nice timing: Late surge boosts Mavericks from second-worst record to sixth-worst. (24)

25. Vancouver (16-54): Reeves, Abdur-Rahim combined for 39 a game in 1998. So how did Grizzlies go 6-34? (25)

26. Clippers (15-55): Looks like Austin experiment is going the way of all their experiments. (26)

27. Golden State (15-56): Hired PR firm to change image (honest). Sounds like a job for a hypnotist. (27)

28. Toronto (15-54): Carter throws twiggy Camby in at center: He averages 17 points, nine boards. (28)

29. Denver (9-63): Warriors’ image makeover gets test: Team lets Nuggets post-historic No. 9. (29)

GAME OF THE WEEK

UTAH AT SEATTLE

* When--Tuesday. * Time--7 p.m. * TV--None.

* Story line--At stake: home-court advantage throughout the Western playoffs. Utah leads the season series, 2-1, so a victory would be worth an extra game in the standings. However, a SuperSonic win would give them control of the tiebreaker, since they have the better conference record.