The LA Lakers will finish with the best record in the conference. The majority of teams in the West have already made that concession as the league adjourns for tonight's All-Star Game.

But the eight teams behind the Lakers, well, that's a different matter. Each one clings to the belief that they are just as good as the other. Each one minimizes their flaws by pointing out the shortcomings of others.

A bit more separation has occurred here than some teams will admit. San Antonio and Denver reside on a plateau 61/2 games behind the Lakers. The Spurs' championship genes can't be dismissed once the playoffs begin, no matter where this team winds up in the standings.

And these aren't your George Karl's Nuggets. OK, technically they are. But anyone who has witnessed the transformation this team has undergone with Chauncey Billups at the point and its new-found defensive vigor will tell you something other than Coors is brewing in the Rockies.

Now, we are back to that glass Paul talks about.

Only 31/2 games separate the next six teams in the standings. All have lost between 20 and 23 games. It's not uncommon for a team to rise or fall by three spots in one night.

Wild fluctuations increase the level of anxiety. Cracks begin to appear if a team isn't unified.

Those cracks threaten to swallow the Phoenix Suns. Houston must now fend off reports of discord in their locker room.

"I can tell you, we are still very close," Rockets center Yao Ming said.

"A good team is not built in one day. We are not like the Celtics with a Big Three. I think we need some time."

Time is in short supply. The playoffs start in 62 days. An injury or bad week or two can turn a playoff spot into a lottery pick for one of these six teams. The daily pressure can extract a psychological toll, leaving a team that survives with nothing left for the playoffs.

For some reason, the Mavericks of last season come to mind.

"Of course, you want to try to get the No. 1 seed so you have home-court advantage," said Paul, whose team sits at No. 6. "But it's all about peaking at the right time.

"As long as we continue to build an identity and show signs of going in the right direction, we'll be fine."

Tony Parker says the same thing about San Antonio. Ditto for Dirk Nowitkzi and the Mavericks. In fact, you can take those words, insert the player of your choice and use it to characterize what is being said in Denver, Portland and Utah during this All-Star Weekend.

What is the view from the top?

"There are a number of elite teams this year," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "We know we are amongst them.

"As far as favorites, it depends on which side of the country you are on. Boston and Cleveland have been favorites. We have a few teams out here in the West, Denver, San Antonio and ourselves that play exceptional ball."

And those other teams in the West?

Most of them are left to stare at a glass that is half full.

Word association

Here is the first word that pops to mind for teams atop the Western Conference standings:

Seed, Tm. Rec. Comment

1. Lakers 42-10 Dominant

2. Spurs 35-16 Venerable

3. Nuggets 36-17 Surprising

4. Blazers 32-20 Young

5. Rockets 32-21 Fragile

6. Hornets 30-20 Scary

7. Mavs 31-21 Blase

8. Jazz 30-23 Wounded

9. Suns 28-23 Dysfunctional

That hurts

Injuries will play a major role in how the Western Conference standings shake out over the final two months of the season. A look at how many games have been missed because of injuries to key players among the West contenders:

Team, Missed Players

Jazz (89) C. Boozer (41), A. Kirilenko (15), D. Williams (14)

M. Okur (8), P. Millsap (6), C.J. Miles (5)

Rockets (56) S. Battier (22), T. McGrady (18), R. Artest (13), Y. Ming (3)

Hornets (34) T. Chandler (18), D. West (6), P. Stojakovic (6), C. Paul (4)

Spurs (24) M. Ginobili (13), T. Parker (10), T. Duncan (1)

Blazers (23) S. Blake (13), G. Oden (6), B. Roy (4)

Nuggets (21) C. Anthony (15), K. Martin (6)

Mavericks (19) J. Howard (17), J. Terry (2)

Suns (17) S. O'Neal (7), S. Nash (5), L. Barbosa (5)

Lakers (10) A. Bynum (6), L. Odom (3), P. Gasol (1)

Playing the margins

An indicator of how these teams stack up with each other is their margin of victory. Notice the large gap between the Lakers and everyone else.

Team Marg. Team Marg.

Lakers 8.34 Utah 2.58

Denver 3.62 New Orl. 2.2

Portland 3.53 Dallas 1.13

San Ant. 3.29 Phoenix 0.9

Houston 2.83

A tough road

Houston, Portland and Utah all have losing road records. They are more likely to fall than rise in the standings if they are unable to reverse that trend.

New Orleans has the most road games left with 18. Since the Hornets are barely above .500 (12-11) away from home, they face a difficult task as well.

The Mavericks' Dirk Nowitzki is moving up the lists reserved for the NBA's greatest power forwards. 6C

7:30 p.m. today (TNT, ESPN-FM 103.3)