The Times’ NBA rankings

Comment (last week’s rank)

HOTTIES

1. CLEVELAND (55-15) Don’t miss Shaq that badly: 9-1 since he left. Only loss was game LeBron missed.(1)

2. LAKERS (51-18) Can play without Andrew but, as they finally show, can play lot better with him. (2)

WARMIES

3. ORLANDO (49-21) 9-1 in March as Carter, who averaged 8.7 in January, bumps it up to 20. (5)

4. Dallas (46-22) With Terry back, rookie Rodrigue Beaubo is happening, deep just got deeper. (3)

5. DENVER (47-22) Kenyon Martin who went a long way on bad knees now may be out ‘til playoffs. (4)

6. OKLAHOMA CITY (42-24) Imagine them with a center. Without one, just won 18 of 22. (7)

7. UTAH (44-25) Team now hopes to re-sign Boozer, whom Williams says is ‘like the old Carlos.’(6)

8. SAN ANTONIO (42-25) Jefferson, $14 mill-a-year bust averaging 11, bumps it up to 19 in last five. (8)

9. PHOENIX (43-26) Showing what’s to come--or what they’ll miss, Amare averaging 30 in march. (10)

10. ATLANTA (44-24) Both teams sagging but they have tie-breaker over Celtics for No. 3 seed. (9)

11. BOSTON (44-24) Oh, and No. 4 seed gets Milwaukee, East’s second-hottest team, in first round. (12)

12. PORTLAND (42-28) Major jockeying looms as West’s No. 8 team starts weekend 1½ games out of No. 5. (11)

13. MILWAUKEE (37-30) Bogut, top pick in ‘05, at career-best 16 points, 10 rebounds, 2.5 blocks. (13)

COOLING OFF

14. MEMPHIS (36-33) Thabeet, back from D-League, gets 19 rebounds, six blocks in two starts. (14)

15. HOUSTON (35-32) Imagine if Spurs kept Scola, averaging 22 points, 13 rebounds this month. (15)

16. CHARLOTTE (35-33) MJ open to changing hated name ‘Bobcats’--chosen for owner Bob Johnson. (16)

17. MIAMI (35-34) Have gun, will travel: Richardson making three threes a game this month. (17)

18. TORONTO (33-34) Oops: Bosh venting isn’t good sign, nor are six losses in seven games. (18)

19. NEW ORLEANS (33-37) Stunner: Collison, No. 21 pick, is No. 3 rookie, averaging 18 as starter. (19)

ON ICE

20. NEW YORK (25-44) 3-1 as Toney, another one D’Antoni buried, averages 18 as starting point. (24)

21. CHICAGO (31-37) Good news: Rookie Gibson, Johnson look good. Bad news: Everything else. (20)

22. SACRAMENTO (23-46) Evans suffers concussion so they may hold him out of today’s big game vs. Clips.(21)

23. CLIPPERS (26-43) After Hughes’ go-round with Baron, Kaman pines for good times under Dunleavy. (22)

24. PHILADELPHIA (24-45) Rising to occasion, Jru Holiday averages 15, shoots 52% this month as starter. (23)

25. DETROIT (23-46) Stucky gets 25 in first game back. Rest of franchise still in coma. (25)

26. INDIANA (23-46) Not that things didn’t go as planned but their wide-open offense is No. 18. (27)

27. WASHINGTON (21-46) Already ready to renegotiate, Blatche regrets signing for $3 mill a year. (26)

28. GOLDEN STATE (19-49) Human Layup Line allows 147 by Spurs, whose starters get 75 in 90 minutes. (28)

29. MINNESOTA (14-56) Good news: Three No. 1 picks in draft. Bad news: It’s not enough. (29)

FROZEN STIFF

30. NEW JERSEY (7-61) Four left vs. losing teams at home with Kings, Pistons there this week. (30)