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Team (record) Comment

1. Utah (5-0) Summer’s over. The sun still rises in the

east. Mailman still delivers.

2. Seattle (5-0) Heavy on cupcakes: SuperSonics have

played one ’98 playoff team.

3. Orlando (4-1) Return of Penny: Averaging 21--and he

hasn’t ripped management all season!

4. Houston (4-1) First Antoine Carr, now Barkley has

a small cartilage tear in one knee.

5. Lakers (3-2) Bad omen. Right now the front office

is as confused as the players.

6. Indiana (3-2) Hasn’t quite made the transition

from good team to consensus favorite.

7. Atlanta (4-1) Mutombo breaks two cheekbones, tells

opponents, “Stop running into my elbows.”

8. Milwaukee (3-0) There’s a reason someone would pay

a wacko like Karl $5 million a year.

9. Philadelphia (3-1) Only Larry Brown can put George

Lynch, Eric Snow in lineup and turn it around.

10. San Antonio (3-3) Not the start Spurs expected:

Duncan averaging 19 points, shooting 43.5%.

11. Detroit (3-2) The House is finally in the house;

Stackhouse top reserve at 20 a game.

12. Portland (2-1) Opportunity: Won’t play a team

with a winning record for eight games.

13. Minnesota (3-1) Joe Smith, trying to revive career,

averages 15 points in first week.

14. Boston (2-2) Looks like Paul Pierce vs. Kings’ Jason

Williams for rookie of year.

15. Sacramento (2-2) Teammates are calling the flashy

Williams “White Chocolate.”

16. Phoenix (3-2) Sunset: Team fails to sell out for first time

in seven years in America West.

17. Miami (2-3) MJ’s retirement may not do it. Reggie Miller,

Grant Hill may have to go too.

18. New York (2-2) Spike better take up baseball because

Knicks might not be back in his lifetime.

19. New Jersey (1-3) They’re too volatile for hard times,

but with all the injuries, here they are.

20. Cleveland (2-3) Kemp twins turn it on, scores 71 with

33 rebounds as Cavaliers rally from 0-3 start.

21. Washington (1-3) You’re in trouble when your best center

is GM Wes Unseld, who must weigh 320.

22. Charlotte (1-4) Coleman, showing old fighting spirit,

after Mason injury: “There goes the season.”

23. Denver (1-5) After all that, he’d better: McDyess breaks

out, averaging 21 and 11.

24. Toronto (1-3) Rookie Vince Carter crashes lineup

alongside Willis, 36, and Oakley, 35.

25. Chicago (1-3) Floyd keeping it close with these schleps,

may get coach-of-year votes.

26. Vancouver (1-3) Big Country coming off bench. At

$7.2 million, he’s game’s priciest reserve.

27. Dallas (1-4) Bradley lasts four games as starter,

averages six points, five rebounds.

28. Golden State (0-5) So far, only the faces have been

changed to protect the coaching staff.

29. Clippers (0-4) Sterling misses good old days when he got

TV money and didn’t have to field team.

GAME OF THE WEEK

INDIANA at LAKERS

When--Today. Time--2:30 p.m. TV--Ch. 4.

* Story line--Some “finals preview.” Neither team is in the top four in its conference at this tender point of the season. Larry Bird has been growling about effort, but Pacer officials have worried all along about the pressure of lofty expectations, which have been placed upon them for the first time. Of course, the Lakers are no strangers to expectations, or disappointment.