THE TIMES’ RANKINGS

*--* Rk. Team (Rec.) Comment (last week’s rank) 1 MINNESOTA (58-24) Once gritty, slender and overmatched at the elite level, but no longer. (1) 2 SAN ANTONIO (57-25) Insiders’ choice after usual big finish (27-7) while giving up 86 a game. (2) 3 INDIANA (61-21) If Lakers aren’t there, Pacers can play with rest and would have home-court edge. (3) 4 DETROIT (54-28) May not work with Larry Brown in long run but Pistons are still in short run. (4) 5 SACRAMENTO (55-27) Another elite team going down tubes, except core players are all secured. (6) 6 LAKERS (56-26) As Abraham Lincoln said, a house divided against itself cannot stand. (5) 7 MEMPHIS (50-32) It’s not that hard to make a bad team OK, but what Grizzlies did was remarkable. (7) 8 DALLAS (52-30) Cuban about to learn that only Don Nelson can coach a team set up to play Nellie Ball.(8) 9 NEW JERSEY (47-35) Oops: Kidd’s hurting, franchise is a lame duck and Brooklyn is years away. (9) 10 HOUSTON (45-37) Took next step under Jeff Van Gundy, but that leaves another step or two. (10) 11 MIAMI (42-40) Any more Van Gundys out there? After 16-26 post-Riley start, Stan went 26-14. (12) 12 DENVER (43-39) Wild, crazy kids revive franchise, need Hubie Brown treatment. (11) 13 UTAH (42-40) Everyone thought there was nothing left there, but it’s not going anywhere. (13) 14 PORTLAND (41-41) Pretty good season, running off problem children while staying on the map. (14) 15 MILWAUKEE (41-41) If T.J. Ford can just become an adequate shooter, Bucks will keep improving. (15) 16 NEW ORLEANS (41-41) Wherever you go, there you are: Charlotte or here, Hornets aren’t happening. (16) 17 NEW YORK (39-43) What happened to town that once savaged Ewing for never winning a title? (17) 18 SEATTLE (37-45) Mr. Coffee has one more season to revive some hope before Ray Allen opts out. (19) 19 GOLDEN STATE (37-45) Wasted season you could see coming may claim promising coach Musselman. (20) 20 BOSTON (36-46) Nice conference: 0-5 finish makes Celtics the worst playoff team in 18 years. (18) 21 CLEVELAND (35-47) Remember when Stern said he wanted to see how James affected “fabric of East”? (21) 22 PHILADELPHIA (33-49) With good times over, it’s just a matter of when Iverson goes and who goes with him. (22) 23 PHOENIX (29-53) Lying-in-the-weeds clinic: Team with Marion, Stoudemire, Johnson didn’t win 30. (23) 24 TORONTO (33-49) Management turnover complete with O’Neill fired. Now all they need is new team. (24) 25 ATLANTA (28-54) At least you know the Hawks are not afraid to start over, since they do it annually. (25) 26 WASHINGTON (25-57) Attendance off 4,500 a game as Wizards face morning after Michael Jordan party. (26) 27 CLIPPERS (28-54) This was transitional season. Now to see whether they’re going backward or forward. (27) 28 CHICAGO (23-59) Everyone thought getting Krause out could only help, but everyone was wrong. (28) 29 ORLANDO (21-61) Beginning of end: New GM Weisbrod gives McGrady deadline to sign or be dealt. (29)

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