The Times’ NBA rankings
| RANKINGS, COMMENTS THROUGH SATURDAY |
| CAVALIERS STILL HERE? | |
| 1. CLEVELAND (37-11) | Who are these guys? 4-0 without Mo Williams. Actually, who is this guy? (1) |
| 2. LAKERS (36-11) | Bynum just lucky not to get smoke inhalation from whoever said he was All-Star. (2) |
| ONE BRICK SHY OF LOAD | |
| 3. ORLANDO (31-16) | Back on feet, just went 6-1, even dragging Vince Carter behind them. (4) |
| 4. DENVER (31-15) | Lakers of the Rockies, wacky but good: George Karl, J.R. Smith go again. (5) |
| 5. ATLANTA (30-16) | Guess which pigeon they hope to see in spring: just swept Celtics, 4-0. (6) |
| 6. BOSTON (29-15) | In the really bad news, KG is back but he’s not KG anymore. (3) |
| TWO-PLUS BRICKS SHY | |
| 7. DALLAS (30-17) | Old school: With Terry in lineup, average age of starters is 33. (7) |
| 8. UTAH (28-18) | Big Boozer problem: In way of Millsap, who gets 32-13 as soon as he leaves. (9) |
| 9. SAN ANTONIO (27-18) | Now it’s Tony Parker, the baby in the oft-injured Big Three, who’s out. (8) |
| 10. PORTLAND (28-21) | On bright (?) side, still play rear ends off without Roy, Oden, et al. (10) |
| 11. NEW ORLEANS (26-21) | Uh, look who’s No. 8 in West: On 13-5 run, just beat Grizzlies without Paul. (15) |
| 12. MEMPHIS (25-21) | Look who’s tied for No. 9 in West, 24-13 since their 1-8 start. (14) |
| 13. OKLAHOMA CITY(25-21) | Look who’s No. 11 in West: After Durant, Westbrook, what’s the big deal? (11) |
| 14. TORONTO (25-22) | Bosh hasn’t left building: Look who’s No. 5 in East, 14-5 after 11-17 start. (18) |
| 15. CHICAGO (23-22) | En Fuego: 13-5 with Hinrich starting -- so what’s this about moving him? (19) |
| 16. HOUSTON (25-21) | Look who else is tied for No. 9 in West, 5-8 this month after 20-13 start. (13) |
| 17. CHARLOTTE (24-22) | Thanks, Larry Brown: With team over .500, Wallace gets overdue All-Star nod. (16) |
| 18. PHOENIX (27-21) | Stop me if you’ve heard this one: Sunrise, sunset . . . (12) |
| 19. MIAMI (24-23) | OK for what is really just Wade, Beasley, Haslem and expansion roster. (17) |
| EARLY ENTRIES IN JOHN WALL DERBY | |
| 20. MILWAUKEE (20-25) | So much for East race: Raptors, Bulls zip by, leaving them 3 1/2 out of No. 8. (22) |
| 21. CLIPPERS (20-26) | Getting run over by two teams with 12 wins between them isn’t a good sign. (20) |
| 22. NEW YORK (18-28) | Actually Utah wound up with their No. 1 pick -- from 2004 trade for Marbury. (21) |
| 23. SACRAMENTO (16-30) | His body’s back, but his game just visits: Kevin Martin scores 23-5-5-5-33. (25) |
| 24. PHILADELPHIA (15-31) | Jordan must draw lineup out of hat since they don’t have five guys he likes. (23) |
| 25. INDIANA (16-31) | Team that won 35-36-36 last three seasons will have to rally to get 30. (24) |
| 26. DETROIT (15-30) | Kuester rips effort. They prove his point, losing by 27 in swan dive vs. Heat. (26) |
| 27. WASHINGTON (16-30) | On bright side, Saunders, haunted by Brown in Detroit, faces no expectations. (28) |
| 28. GOLDEN STATE (13-32) | Ellis snubbed, but LeBron might not have been All-Star playing in this zoo. (27) |
| 29. MINNESOTA (10-38) | Not enough players and ones they have don’t fit -- like Jefferson and Love. (29) |
| SHOULD BE DROPPED INTO D-LEAGUE | |
| 30. NEW JERSEY (4-41) | After taking a month to get fourth win, over/under on No. 5 is two weeks. (30) |
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