Below are the report cards of the Atlantic Division teams halfway through the 2002-03 NBA regular season.

BOSTON CELTICS
	Comment	Grade
Ric Bucher	The home of NBA 101 has become a School for the Unorthodox. Jim O'Brien somehow makes it work, which is impressive. So far, neither better nor worse than last year, despite a few roster deletions.	C+
Fred Carter	They're not playing as well as last year after the loss of Rodney Rogers and Kenny Anderson, but Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker are still carrying them. They're still a threat in the Atlantic Division.	B+
Dr. Jack Ramsay	They were hurt by the Vin Baker trade, but the young legs of J.R. Bremer and Kedrick Brown are helping. Pierce and Walker are hanging tough.	B+
Marc Stein	Amid concerns that the load they carry is grinding them into dust, both Pierce and Walker are shooting less than 40 percent -- when healthy. New ownership offers new hope ... until someone says "salary cap" and "Vin Baker."	C+
Bill Walton	Who would have thought that this one-time national treasure would be plowed under by antipathy at the top? The Vin Baker experiment has failed miserably for everyone except for the selling/departing owner.	B
	Grade Point Average: 2.8	B-

MIAMI HEAT
	Comment	Grade
Ric Bucher	Losing Alonzo Mourning last year set this team back from the start, but they don't always play hard or execute, previously two staples of Pat Riley teams.	F
Fred Carter	This is a rebuilding year and it's hard for them to compete without 'Zo, but the team is at least playing hard.	C
Dr. Jack Ramsay	It has been a painful rebuilding year for Riles, who hopes to be a player in the next free agent market. But he must suffer through a second straight non-playoff year.	D
Marc Stein	Good news: Caron Butler really is Heat's minutes-played leader. Bad news: Everything else.	D
Bill Walton	It's an endless road back for Riley unless he can pull off the toxic waste dump cleanup that Kiki Vandeweghe did in Denver. At least Kiki was cleaning up someone else's mess. No matter how good the coach is, you still need the best players -- or at least the ability to make them the best.	C
	Grade Point Average: 1.2	D

NEW JERSEY NETS
	Comment	Grade
Ric Bucher	They remain atop the Atlantic even while wearing the bull's-eye. I'm not sure they'd be there if Dikembe Mutombo were healthy. They're not any more ready to knock off the West's best, but that's the final exam.	A
Fred Carter	Jason Kidd and the rest of the team are playing well despite some injuries. They're doing everything well, and Byron Scott is doing an outstanding job.	A
Dr. Jack Ramsay	They lost Deke but are now playing great. Kidd is scoring more, Kenyon Martin is more mature, Richard Jefferson is the real deal and Lucious Harris has been a big plus in a fill-in role.	A
Marc Stein	No Mutombo for most of the season, no Kerry Kittles for a stretch and still no slippage from the East champs in a conference that got a bit stronger. The issue with these guys? Until Deke comes back for the playoffs, it's road woes.	B+
Bill Walton	Does it REALLY matter who plays the middle as long as Kidd is on his MVP mission? Jefferson is a star who looks better the closer you get.	A-
	Grade Point Average: 3.8	A-

NEW YORK KNICKS
	Comment	Grade
Ric Bucher	They're better with Latrell Sprewell than without. How good is that? Still not very. But put this on the parents (management), not the kids (players). For a New York team, they're worse than just bad -- they're irrelevant.	F
Fred Carter	Surprising team. They're a lot better than I thought they would be. If Antonio McDyess comes back, the Knicks may have a chance to make the playoffs.	B-
Dr. Jack Ramsay	Rolled and lost Dice, but they're starting to jell with Spree, Allan Houston and Kurt Thomas. They're $40 million over the cap and no place to go.	D
Marc Stein	This is a .500 team since its 1-8 start. So, as usual, the Knicks take that to mean they belong in the playoffs, which will probably mean a draft pick no higher than No. 7. Which means beleaguered New Yorkers might as well get used to the Allan Houston-Latrell Sprewell-Kurt Thomas core.	D+
Bill Walton	Overpriced role players playing in front of thousands of empty seats at the World's Most Famous Arena is the thankless payoff to loyal Knicks season-ticket holders.	D+
	Grade Point Average: 1.3	D+

ORLANDO MAGIC
	Comment	Grade
Ric Bucher	Having Grant Hill in and out of the lineup is like working with a learning disability; you have to grade them on a curve. Tracy McGrady now knows what it's like to be KG, but unlike KG he's not a factor at both ends of the floor.	C
Fred Carter	Hill has not been able to step up because of injuries, but T-Mac is still playing extremely well. Defensive rebounding is their Achilles' heel.	C
Dr. Jack Ramsay	Can't get over the gimpy Hill, so T-Mac does it all. They still need a man in the middle and tougher D just to make the playoffs.	C
Marc Stein	It's one of the ironies of the season. Every season in Orlando, really. Coach's name is Doc ... team can't stay healthy.	C
Bill Walton	T-Mac is a stud, while Mike Miller has only intermittently stepped up his play on this frontcourt-starved team.	B
	Grade Point Average: 2.2	C

PHILADELPHIA 76ERS
	Comment	Grade
Ric Bucher	One game ahead of last year's midseason pace. That's not enough since I thought they got the better part of the trade with the Nets and their second-half schedule is considerably tougher.	C-
Fred Carter	This is a team that's totally underachieving. Last year, they were in the top three in defensive field-goal percentage. This year, they rank 24th.	B
Dr. Jack Ramsay	They have Keith Van Horn and other positive additions (Kenny Thomas, Greg Buckner, Brian Skinner, Monty Williams) and have irrepressible Allen Iverson, but they're struggling.	C
Marc Stein	After a 15-4 start, Sixers fans were saying this team was better than the crew that went to the 2001 Finals. After a 6-16 spiral ... you can't print what Philly fans are saying.	C-
Bill Walton	Struggling to find their identity, the Sixers have had a forgettable first half. No on-court leadership and poor defense -- uncharacteristic of Larry Brown teams -- have contributed to this disappointing season.	C-
	Grade Point Average: 2.0	C

WASHINGTON WIZARDS
	Comment	Grade
Ric Bucher	Coach Doug Collins is playing his young bigs more lately and saving his veteran bigs as closers. Not a bad compromise.	C+
Fred Carter	I didn't think the Wizards could make the playoffs, but Doug Collins and Michael Jordan have done a great job getting the team to compete and play defense. Impressive.	A
Dr. Jack Ramsay	Jordan pulls the team together, Jerry Stackhouse has played tough and Larry Hughes and Tyronn Lue get the point. If MJ stays healthy, the Wiz will make the playoffs.	B+
Marc Stein	The Wiz can't get to the playoffs unless they get something out of Christian Laettner, Charles Oakley and the under-fire Kwame Brown. Yet so long as MJ goes back to his GM post at season's end, all is forgiven here.	C
Bill Walton	Kwame Brown is taking a back seat as the future is now for veterans Jordan and Oakley. Storybook endings are nice but rarely happen in the real world.	D
	Grade Point Average: 2.5	C+