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

1. Lakers (34-9) At this pace, Shaq will win the MVP and finish the season weighing 180. (1)

2. Portland (33-10) Trail Blazers just went 5-0, defeating Lakers, Jazz and the Spurs twice. (2)

3. San Antonio (28-16) When Popovich started Porter, that made four guys in lineup who were 34 or older. (5)

4. Utah (27-15) Magic retired at 31, Cousy at 34, Big O at 35. Stockton, 37, may be playing at 40. (4)

5. Indiana (28-15) Looks like Pacers, Knicks, Heat in scrum to see who wins 55 and takes East. (3)

6. Sacramento (27-14) Return of Nick Anderson: averaged single figures through Jan. 1, 16.3 since. (8)

7. Seattle (28-17) In case you weren’t counting, this makes six Western teams in the top seven. (6)

8. New York (25-16) Van Gundy could get coach of year or the Nobel Peace Prize for this. (9)

9. Miami (26-16) Not that Heat players are old, but as soon as Hardaway got back, Majerle went out. (7)

10. Philadelphia (24-19) Iverson wants to see what it’ll take to flip Brown out. Hint: Not much more.(10)

11. Minnesota (24-17) Return of Terrell Brandon: on block in December, averaged 21 in January. (12)

12. Phoenix (24-18) Gugliotta is averaging 13.1 points, the second-worst mark of his career. (11)

13. Charlotte (24-18) Who woke him up? After years of slumber, Coleman gets 20 in five games in a row. (14)

14. Toronto (24-19) Raptors want to move Christie for point guard and make McGrady a starter. (15)

15. Milwaukee (24-20) Bucks are 25th in defense with no one in top 30 in rebounding or steals. (16)

16. Detroit (22-21) Now we know what the Pistons would be without Grant Hill: the Clippers. (13)

17. Boston (20-23) Why Pitino needs baby-sitter: Fortson, acquired for Mercer, now on block. (17)

18. Denver (19-22) Oops: Looking like they’ll keep bargain Billups and let pricey Mercer go. (18)

19. New Jersey (17-27) In midst of 20-game stretch with 14 on road, after which it’ll be over. (19)

20. Houston (16-27) Lakers get another look at Francis, who averaged 21 points this month. (20)

21. Cleveland (18-26) Ilgauskas, on six-year, $70.9-million deal, played four games in two seasons. (21)

22. Dallas (17-26) I pity the fools: Mavericks in 7-2 run when they decided to sign Rodman. (22)

23. Orlando (20-25) Doc pulls his no-names out of free fall, but they’ll never see .500 again. (23)

24. Atlanta (16-26) Oh, so that’s it: Rider puts on stupid-shot-selection clinic vs. Knicks. (24)

25. Washington (14-30) MJ practices with Wizards. Unfortunately, those don’t count in standings. (25)

26. Chicago (8-33) MVP candidate: The Bulls were 2-26 when Kukoc came back and 6-7 since. (28)

27. Vancouver (12-30) Dear Mr. Heisley: Aren’t we related? Can I be GM? How much worse can I do? (26)

28. Golden State (9-32) Giving up and starting over (again): Everyone but Jamison is for sale. (29)

29. Clippers (11-32) Taylor: We’re at crossroads. Actually, that was Nov. 1 and they went wrong way.(27)

GAME OF THE WEEK

LAKERS at SAN ANTONIO

When--Tuesday. Time--5 PST.

TV--Channel 9, TNT.

* Story line--One thing the Lakers aren’t short of these days is tests, and here comes another. The Spurs have rallied recently, with David Robinson, who had been averaging 13 points, stepping it up to 23.6 over a five-game stretch.