THE TIMES’ RANKINGS

*--* RULERS OF ALL THEY SEE 1. SAN ANTONIO (17-3) No shot with Duncan out -- oh, they beat Mavericks and Jazz anyway? Never mind. (1) 2. BOSTON (17-2) This is like exhibition season: Three games versus West so far, all at home. (2) PRINCES 3. PHOENIX (16-5) Oops: Went 5-0, averaging 124, until they lost to . . . Timberwolves? (4) 4. ORLANDO (16-5) Three Magic players -- Lewis, Turkoglu, Bogans -- in top 10 in three-pointers made. (5) 5. DETROIT (13-6) Who are you and what did you do with the Pistons? Averaged 113 over three. (8) 6. UTAH (13-8) Young guys are great at home (8-1), not so much (5-7) on road. (3) 7. DALLAS (13-8) Last season’s No. 4 defense gave up 109 a game in last five, going 2-3. (7) TOWNSPEOPLE 8. NEW ORLEANS (13-7) Home-court disadvantage: 5-5 before small crowds at home, 8-2 on road (6) 9. DENVER (13-8) Just saw Nuggets twice. They may take more bad shots than any good team in history. (9) 10. GOLDEN STATE (11-8) Deeper, too, as Harrington gets offense, Azubuike replaces Richardson. (10) 11. LAKERS (11-8) It’s quiet. Too quiet. (12) 12. HOUSTON (11-9) He’s back: Francis, who came in looking like a power forward, joins rotation. (11) 13. INDIANA (10-10) Carlisle’s Pacers had No. 24 offense last season. O’Brien’s are at No. 8. (17) 14. TORONTO (10-10) Still treading water with Bosh, Ford, Bargnani in and out of lineup. (14) 15. CLEVELAND (9-12) People wonder about LeBron’s “sprained finger” as they go 0-6, averaging 80. (13) 16. WASHINGTON (9-10) Arenas’ absence means Nick Young gets his shot, averaging 11 over last 10. (18) 17. CHICAGO (6-12) May finally be over Kobe: Bulls win three of four, including one in Detroit. (19) 18. ATLANTA (9-10) East is still thin or they’re way better: Now tied for No. 6 in conference. (24) 19. MILWAUKEE (8-10) Nice knowing you: 13 of next 20 are on road, where they’re 2-8. (16) 20. NEW JERSEY (9-11) With Brooklyn far off, may keep Kidd to avoid years of lame-duck status. (15) APPRENTICES 21. PORTLAND (7-12) Travis Outlaw, a major athlete who learned to shoot, averaging 11 off bench. (25) 22. CLIPPERS (7-11) Anyone who can make two in a row from 20 feet, call Mike Dunleavy. (20) 23. SACRAMENTO (7-12) Maybe they should start him more often: Salmons averaging 20 as starter. (26) 24. PHILADELPHIA (7-13) New GM Ed Stefanski up for exec of the year as 76ers start 0-2 under him. (28) 25. NEW YORK (6-13) Knicks could be OK when the drama ends. Unfortunately, it won’t. (21) 26. CHARLOTTE (7-11) Varejao offer that Cleveland was sure to match shows how desperate they are. (23) 27. MEMPHIS (6-14) In agreement: Gasol unhappy. They want to move his $60-million contract. (22) SERFS 28. SEATTLE (5-15) Still Chris Wilcox: Looks spectacular, averages 14.7 points, 7.8 rebounds. (29) 29. MIAMI (4-15) Wade calls trip “nightmare” -- before they blow 18-point lead over Warriors. (27) 30. MINNESOTA (3-15) Would have had parade after beating Suns but windchill factor was minus-3. (30) *--*