The Times’ NBA rankings
| RANKINGS, COMMENTS THROUGH SATURDAY |
| BIG THURSDAY | |
| 1. CLEVELAND (31-11) | Lakers- Cavaliers non-rivalry about to be renewed there Thursday. (1) |
| 2. LAKERS (31-9) | Still a force unto himself, but Kobe gets Gamer Award of Week or All-Time. (2) |
| UP AND COMING/ DOWN AND GOING | |
| 3. BOSTON (27-11) | 1-2 with Wallace and KG out, leaving no one who’s 6-9 in bare feet. (3) |
| 4. ATLANTA (26-13) | Team that bedeviled Celtics in ’08 playoffs 3-0 against them this season. (9) |
| 5. DENVER (25-14) | All the work he puts in paying off for Afflalo, averaging 12 this month. (4) |
| 6. DALLAS (26-13) | Not good if you can’t win at home vs. battered Lakers playing back to back. (6) |
| 7. ORLANDO (26-14) | Eastern finalists rolling and tumbling, 9-10 since 17-4 start. (5) |
| 8. SAN ANTONIO (24-15) | Not Tim’s age: Parker down five points from last year, Ginobili shooting 40%. (8) |
| 9. PHOENIX (24-17) | Too bad schedule got so easy: Started 15-5 with 12 on road, 9-12 since. (7) |
| 10. PORTLAND (25-16) | Somebody Up There Upset About Something: Now Roy’s out with sore hamstring. (11) |
| 11. OKLAHOMA CITY (22-18) | If not for one-point losses to Mavericks, Spurs, precocious kids would be 11-2. (10) |
| 12. UTAH (23-17) | Still win at home anyway: Just went 4-0, three at home, one over Cavaliers. (15) |
| 13. HOUSTON (22-18) | Chinese voters missing Yao make TMac No. 2 among West guards. No, really. (13) |
| 14. NEW ORLEANS (21-18) | 14-7 since CP3’s return: Why he shouldn’t ever be lower than No. 3 in MVP voting. (17) |
| 15. MEMPHIS (21-18) | That’s homecourt advantage: Empty arena, then come from 18 down vs. Clippers. (12) |
| 16. MIAMI (20-19) | Next point guard: After Chalmers, Arroyo bomb, Alston shoots 17 for 43, averages 6.0. (16) |
| 17. TORONTO (20-20) | With GM Colangelo’s contract running out, why would he trade Bosh this season? (14) |
| 18. CHARLOTTE (19-19) | 15-13 with Jackson averaging 21 there, showing how good he is when lucid. (21) |
| 19. CHICAGO (18-20) | Just went 4-0 in Save Vinny rally with win over real team in Boston. (24) |
| OOPS | |
| 20. CLIPPERS (17-22) | Wasn’t their week. (18) |
| 21. MILWAUKEE (16-22) | So much for their Redd Period: Skiles didn’t dig him before he hurt knee. (20) |
| 22. SACRAMENTO (15-24) | In good news, Martin back. In bad news, went 0-2 with him, 2-9 overall, (22) |
| 23. NEW YORK (16-24) | D’Antoni on what Nate Robinson must do differently on defense: “Play it.” (19) |
| 24. INDIANA (14-26) | With Hibbert coming on, speculation about trading Murphy among others. (29) |
| DISASTER AREA | |
| 25. GOLDEN STATE (11-27) | Looking as if he’ll outlast Nellie, Ellis averaging 27 since Dec. 1. (23) |
| 26. DETROIT (14-25) | Hamilton, Prince for sale in rebuilding project that needs lot more rebuilding. (25) |
| 27. WASHINGTON (13-26) | They say JaVale McGee may be only untouchable -- but don’t play him. (26) |
| 28. PHILADELPHIA (13-26) | GM Stefanski on new Coach Jordan: “We’re all accountable.” (27) |
| 29. MINNESOTA (8-33) | With power forward logjam, offered Jefferson to Pacers for Granger. (28) |
| 30. NEW JERSEY (3-36) | Good thing this isn’t old days or new Russian owner might have them shot. (30) |
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