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CAPSULES AND RANKING

Team (Record): Comment (Last Week’s Rank)

1. Chicago (56-9): Lose to Knicks, Nets. Iverson scores 37 on Jordan. Let’s say it wasn’t Bulls’ week. (1)

2. New York (47-17): Good news, bad news: Pippen, Larry Johnson trash each other--and they’re both right. (2)

3. Utah (48-17): Three more games on last long trip. Once Jazz gets home, only six more on road. (3)

4. Seattle (45-18): Karl: “We’ll win Pacific.” SuperSonics had better. Might be a while until next time. (4)

5. Houston (43-21): Rockets are 24-6 in games with big three. Of course, the last one was Jan. 25. (6)

6. Miami (47-17): Sigmund Riley rips players after loss in Charlotte: “You want to lose, fine.” (10)

7. Detroit (46-17): Two losses on Coast trip drop Pistons to fourth in East. Expect Hawks in first round. (5)

8. Atlanta (43-22): Better manners in House of Mutombo: Refs tell Deke, stop pointing at opponents. (7)

9. Charlotte (42-23): Even amid the prosperity, Mason’s teammates are getting tired of his big mouth. (8)

10. Orlando (35-28): Penny, “next Jordan,” plays more like Reggie than Mike till game-winner at Houston. (9).

11. Portland (37-28): Normal week: a Rider incident, more reports Carlesimo to be fired, win streak at 8. (12)

12. Cleveland (34-29): Magic just moved ahead in race for No. 7. Loser gets Bulls in first round. (11)

13. Minnesota (31-32): Marbury compares Iverson rivalry to Magic-Bird. Hint for Stephon: not quite yet. (13)

14. Lakers (42-21): Test is not whether they win or lose but how well they handle whatever happens. (14)

15. Indiana (30-33): Nice playoff drive: Lose at home to Spurs. Four games out, sending up bubbles. (15)

16. Washington (30-34): Bullets 22-25 (.468) when Lynam was fired. Under Bickerstaff, 8-8 (.500). (16)

17. Phoenix (26-38): Still can’t defend, but 112 Suns got at Sports Arena shows they can still score. (20)

18. Sacramento (28-36): Just when Kings could have pulled away, take a timely four-game losing streak. (17)

19. Clippers (27-35): Here’s the bad news: They have only one more game left against Lakers. (18)

20. Toronto (23-41): Just won three in row. Fellow coaches praise Darrell Walker for Raptors’ scrappiness. (21)

21. Milwaukee (26-37): Maybe Bucks mistook Christmas for the end of the season. They were 15-11 then. (19)

22. Golden State (25-39): Invisible playoff drive: ESPN’s Olbermann calls win over Warriors “insignificant.” (23)

23. Dallas (21-42): They’re doing better than the Nets, anyway. Mavericks 5-10 since the big trade. (25)

24. New Jersey (19-44): Just when Calipari was thinking of calling Vitale--Nets knock off the Bulls. (22)

25. Denver (19-45): Motta needs six wins to catch Red Auerbach, second all-time. Looks like it’ll be close. (24)

26. Philadelphia (17-47): Stackhouse, almost traded, averages 20.5, shoots 45% since All-Star break. (26)

27. San Antonio (16-48): Spurs go 2-8, drop further behind in Duncan Derby as determined Celtics go 1-9. (27)

28. Boston (12-53): Answer Spurs’ challenge by letting Hawks score first 19 points last Sunday. (28)

29. Vancouver (11-55): Were 8-35 (.186) when Winters was fired. Under Jackson, Grizzlies 3-20 (.130). (29)

GAME OF THE WEEK

SEATTLE AT CHICAGO

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

* Story line--Have the Bulls turned mortal enough to lose in United Center? After a harrowing 2-2 trip, they’re home, where they’re 69-3 over two seasons, winning by an average of 15.6 points this season. The SuperSonics are 12-3 since the All-Star break but struggling to get back to last spring’s form. Shawn Kemp, averaging 21 points at the break, was at 13 for a month until scoring 26 in Friday’s victory at Atlanta.