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Team (record) Comment (last week’s position)

1. Lakers (32-6) Just when it looked as if they’d win 69 in a row and finish 77-5 . . . (1)

2. Portland (28-9) Crunch time: Trail Blazers on long trip, ending with games vs. Spurs and Lakers. (2)

3. Indiana (25-11) Win over the Lakers gives East teams a reason to play out the season. (4)

4. Utah (24-11) They were dying for sub who can score, and that’s what Armen Gilliam does. (5)

5. San Antonio (24-14) Desperately seeking anyone--Tim Thomas? Doug Christie?--who has a pulse. (3)

6. Miami (23-12) The Heat went 11-3 in November, 8-6 in December and it’s 4-3 in January. (8)

7. Sacramento (22-12) Webber on roll of his career, averaging 30 points a game since Christmas. (12)

8. Seattle (24-13) Who are you calling soft? Baker steps it up after Westphal gets in his face. (6)

9. New York (22-14) As predicted, better but not great: Knicks are 10-5 with Patrick Ewing. (7)

10. Philadelphia (21-16) Stronger than he looks: Iverson takes 26 shots and 11 free throws a game. (13)

11. Phoenix (20-15) The Suns won their first four games for Scott Skiles, but since, he’s 3-8. (9)

12. Detroit (21-15) Now Hill is up to 27.9 points a game. His previous career high was 21.4. (14)

13. Minnesota (18-16) Garnett averaging 12.2 rebounds a game. None of his teammates gets 7.0. (17)

14. Toronto (20-17) Carter swoons after Dream snub, gets 47 vs. Allen, says it didn’t bother him. (11)

15. Milwaukee (21-17) Two-year bust Thomas starts to happen, averaging 14 off bench this month. (15)

16. Charlotte (18-17) Grieving Hornets have more on minds than wins and losses right now. (10)

17. Denver (17-18) Van Exel struggling because of groin pull and so are Nuggets, losing six of eight. (16)

18. New Jersey (15-21) Marbury, who took 20 shots 11 times by Christmas, hasn’t done it since. (18)

19. Cleveland (16-20) Shamu, er, Shawn Kemp has reached 20 points in five of the Cavaliers’ last 17 games. (21)

20. Boston (16-20) After two years assembling them, Pitino says players are wrong for press. (28)

21. Orlando (16-22) Drops 10 of 11, looking the way everyone thought Magic would from the start. (19)

22. Atlanta (13-22) He wishes: Team president says Hawks are NBA’s biggest underachievers. (20)

23. Washington (12-26) Who cares if he buys in? Only way Jordan can fix this mess is to play for it. (29)

24. Dallas (12-24) Unheralded trio, Finley, Nowitzki, Ceballos, combine for 58 a game. (23)

25. Houston (11-24) In place of Olajuwon and Barkley, Rockets start Pig Miller and Matt Bullard. (22)

26. Vancouver (10-26) Happening: Second-year Michael Dickerson averaging 19.6 in the new year. (25)

27. Clippers (10-26) Odom is only 20, but he can tell there’s something rotten in Clipperdom. (24)

28. Chicago (5-29) Happening: Elton Brand averaging 18 points, 11 boards since Christmas. (27)

29. Golden State (6-30) Warriors’ 6-21 start under Carlesimo is starting to look like good old days. (26)

GAME OF THE WEEK

PORTLAND at LAKERS

When--Saturday. Time--5:30 p.m. TV--Channel 4.

* Story line--The kingpins of the Pacific Division are 1-2 in the league, so this could well be a preview of something big. It’s also a test of how far the Lakers have pulled ahead of the pack, of how they’ll react to the end of their winning streak and of how the Trail Blazers, who are bigger, deeper and were once thought to be better, measure up.