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

1. Utah (17-7) Even if Jazz can’t keep this pace up,

hats off to NBA’s Gray Panthers. (1)

2. Philadelphia (18-6) Best part of it is the 76ers did it

while playing 16 games on road. (2)

3. Portland (17-8) Sounds like wild times behind scenes,

but Dunleavy’s hanging in there. (6)

4. Phoenix (15-8) Schedule’s been favorable, but Suns are

as good as anyone else right now. (7)

5. Lakers (16-9) Good news: Harper’s their most consistent

starter. That’s the bad news too. (4)

6. San Antonio (14-9) Duncan coming off knee surgery slowly.

If he’s only OK, Spurs are too. (5)

7. Sacramento (15-6) Kings really are better and certainly

fun, but let’s not get carried away. (3)

8. Minnesota (15-9) Garnett in top 13 in points, rebounds,

shooting percentage and minutes. (8)

9. Dallas (15-10) Biggest sharpshooter in the game:

6-11 Nowitzki dangerous on three-pointers. (9)

10. Charlotte (16-9) Baron Davis may not be best point guard in

game, but he’s sure the dunkingest. (11)

11. Cleveland (15-7) Biggest surprise of November starts

December by winning six in row. (17)

12. New York (14-10) No matter what Knicks throw out there,

Van Gundy keeps them competitive. (10)

13. Seattle (13-12) Coincidence? McMillan is up to 7-3.

Baker is down to 23 minutes a game. (14)

14. Milwaukee (12-11) Lakers just turned a season around,

but it wasn’t theirs, it was Bucks’. (21)

15. Miami (13-12) Well, almost: Riley compared Grant to

Mailman, but Brian down to 16 a game. (13)

16. Toronto (12-11) In recent loss to Suns, Carter got 35

while other starters totaled 23. (12)

17. Houston (13-10) Not bad for second season: If Rockets make

playoffs, Francis is MVP candidate. (15)

18. Indiana (11-13) One who’s ready: Jermaine O’Neal. Two

who aren’t: Harrington and Bender. (18)

19. Denver (12-13) On bright side, Nuggets still in race,

assuming they show up for all the games. (16)

20. Detroit (10-13) For sale: Jerome Williams, free-agent-

to-be, playing 24 minutes a game. (20)

21. Orlando (9-14) Disaster: Hill returns, they go 0 for

West Coast and he goes out again. (19)

22. Boston (9-14) Don’t go, Ricky! You’re the best thing

this side of Comedy Central. (22)

23. Clippers (8-17) Ideally, you don’t find your point guard

on 10-day contract, but McInnis is OK. (26)

24. Golden State (6-18) Christmas rims clanging early:

Hughes goes 10 for 41 in two games. (23)

25. New Jersey (9-14) Kendall Gill, almost-Laker, benched as

shooting percentage drops to 33%. (24)

26. Vancouver (7-16) Oh, so that’s it: Coach Sidney Lowe

says talented kids have no heart. (25)

27. Atlanta (6-18) Fast mouth, fast gun: Jason Terry

averaging over 20 since going to two guard. (27)

28. Washington (4-19) Not really a Tony Robbins job. Mandrake

the Magician would be more like it. (28)

29. Chicago (3-21) Good news: On 11-win pace, two more

than 76ers’ worst-team-ever got. (29)

GAME OF THE WEEK

UTAH at PHILADELPHIA

* When--Wednesday. * Time--5 p.m. * TV--TNT.

* Story line--These aren’t the most talented teams in the league, but they’re scrappy outfits that approach the game the right way. The venerable Jazz is your basic Swiss watch, leading the league in shooting percentage, as usual. The 76ers are short on firepower but long on heart.