RANKINGS, COMMENTS THROUGH SATURDAY

NOW THERE ARE FIVE?
1. CLEVELAND (46-14)- Jamison, who went 0 for 12 in debut, averaging 16 and 7 since. (1)
2. LAKERS (44-15)- Running away with West, just haven’t beaten any top West teams lately. (2)
3. DENVER (39-19)- Nice knowing you: J.R. Smith tweets “Kobe is great but not when he play me.” (3)
4. DALLAS (38-21)- Carlisle says “Every game is a practice” but they’re 6-1 with Butler, Haywood.(7)
5. ORLANDO (39-20)- Just won 14 of 18 — oops, 13 of 18 after blowing 18-point lead over Hornets. (5)
BETTER THINK OF SOMETHING
6. ATLANTA (36-21)- Woodson’s ’Iso-Joe’ offense, six-man rotation drawing fire, again. (8)
7. PHOENIX (37-23)- Aren’t you guys supposed to be falling apart? Just won 11 of 13. (10)
8. OKLAHOMA CITY (34-23)- Upshot on Durant 25-point streak: He averaged 32, they went 20-9. (9)
9. UTAH (38-21)- Just when they thought it was safe to go on road: 7-0 run ends in Sacramento. (6)
10. SAN ANTONIO (32-24)- Ginobili, the Argentine Kobe, averaging 18 this month—but Spurs are just 5-5. (11)
11. TORONTO (31-26)- No. 5 seeding back in play: Bosh, who missed four, may miss several more. (12)
12. PORTLAND (35-27)- Hot time in old town this spring: Lakers looking at trip here in first round. (13)
13. CHICAGO (31-28)- New Bulls Warrick, Murray averaging combined 23 points off bench. (17)
14. NEW ORLEANS (31-28)- Collison-Thornton breakout means real hope of giving Paul reason to stay. (15)
15. HOUSTON (29-29)- Kevin Martin turns back into Kevin Martin, now Rockets’ leading scorer at 19.8. (14)
16. MILWAUKEE (31-28)- Just won 12 of 15 with newly arrived Salmons averaging 18 in last six. (20)
17. MEMPHIS (30-29)- Owner, not GM or coach, chose Thabeet—now highest pick ever in D-League. (19)
18. CHARLOTTE (28-29)- MJ buys team: What could go wrong now? (18)
19. MIAMI (29-31)- No. 9 seeding back in play: 1-3 without Wade, who hopes to (better) return soon. (16)
ALREADY HIT (JOHN) WALL
20. CLIPPERS (24-34)- I love Camby but he had to come off cap for them to get a maximum salary slot. (23).
21. PHILADELPHIA (22-36)- Nice knowing you: Eddie Jordan has rest of his first season to save his job. (21)
22. NEW YORK (20-38)- Still great sometimes: McGrady gets 26-15-6-23 in first four with Knicks. (22)
23. WASHINGTON (20-36)- McGee still on yo-yo despite averaging 11 and 6 in 22 minutes in last six games. (25)
24. DETROIT (21-38)- Free-agent signees Gordon, Villanueva averaging 16 this month—combined. (26)
25. SACRAMENTO (19-39)- Hawes-Westphal “feud” ends in elaborate pregame chest-bump routine. (24)
26. INDIANA (20-39)- Dive, dive, dive: After win totals of 61-44-41-35-36-36, on pace for 27. (27)
27. MINNESOTA (14-47)- Darko’s last stand: Gives them rest of season to keep him in the NBA. (28)
28. GOLDEN STATE (17-41)- Even if it’s extended garbage time, Curry averages 23 over nine. (29)
BLACK HOLE OF JERSEY
29. NEW JERSEY (6-52)- Four more wins in seven weeks and they’ll be just the second worst of all time. (30)
30. BOSTON (36-21)- Life isn’t over, it just feels like it after losing at home to Nets. (4)