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

GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS
	Comment	Grade
Ric Bucher	The talent doesn't fit, but the players' willingness and coach Eric Musselman's direction has made the team function better than ever before.	C+
Fred Carter	They're an athletic team that can score and rebound, but the defense has been sorely lacking. They could compete if they could ever crank up the defensive intensity.	C-
Dr. Jack Ramsay	Nice, young talent in Jason Richardson, Gilbert Arenas and Troy Murphy. Antawn Jamison and Erick Dampier add veteran presence.	C
Marc Stein	When you haven't seen the playoffs since 1994, and when you're coming off a 21-61 season, you revel in 18 wins at the halfway pole.	C+
Bill Walton	Earl Boykins has brought stability and fire. Too bad Dampier makes Vin Baker look productive and consistent. Musselman is better than I thought.	B
	Grade Point Average: 2.3	C+

LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS
	Comment	Grade
Ric Bucher	No one has more talent and yet hurled more spit wads or had a worse participation record. A team considered a lock to make the playoffs is already starting to splinter.	F
Fred Carter	They're talented and athletic with size. But they're hard to grade because so many guys will be free agents and are just waiting for the end of the year.	C
Dr. Jack Ramsay	Smitten with injuries, they should be OK when everybody's back. But it's too late for a playoff push this year.	C
Marc Stein	Andre Miller and Michael Olowokandi haven't looked like prime-time free agents. Biggest culprit, as always, is Donald T. Sterling, whose locked-away wallet set the tone. But these guys have played selfishly and even admitted it.	D
Bill Walton	Hands down, the most disappointing team of the first half. The underachieving Clippers are saddled with too many me-first attitudes (see Olowokandi).	D-
	Grade Point Average: 1.1	D

LOS ANGELES LAKERS
	Comment	Grade
Ric Bucher	Reserves had a chance to earn their rings with Shaq out and the regulars conserving energy for spring. Nothing matters until then, so let's make it a wait-and-C.	C
Fred Carter	Terrible underachievers. A lot of the little hustle-type things haven't been happening. The Lakers can only afford three or four more bad losses before they end up a lottery team.	D
Dr. Jack Ramsay	Shaquille O'Neal missed first 12 games and he's not 100 percent yet. Kobe Bryant carries too much of the load. Factor in non-supporting cast and that equals no four-peat.	C-
Marc Stein	After 41 games, .500 is three wins away for Lakers, who are still waiting for a full-strength Kobe and a more mobile Shaq. They'll need both just to get to the playoffs.	D
Bill Walton	While making a mockery of the regular season, the Lakers are still the team to beat on the court. They're finally showing signs of life after an abysmal start.	C-
	Grade Point Average: 1.5	D+

PHOENIX SUNS
	Comment	Grade
Ric Bucher	With Amare Stoudemire and Penny Hardaway doing more than anyone expected, they were the West's biggest first-half surprise -- and they did it during the tougher half of their schedule.	A
Fred Carter	Stephon Marbury is finally emerging from the shadow of the Jason Kidd trade and becoming a leader for this ballclub.	B+
Dr. Jack Ramsay	Stoudemire the Stud and Marbury's total game make the difference. They need Penny Hardaway back to play to maximum ability.	A-
Marc Stein	Man-child Stoudemire has nudged past Yao Ming as Rookie of the Year favorite. Frank Johnson and Bryan Colangelo are reveling, too.	B
Bill Walton	How will this team handle the adversity that is sure to come -- never a strength of Marbury and the now injured Hardaway?	B+
	Grade Point Average: 3.5	B+

PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS
	Comment	Grade
Ric Bucher	They're the private-school brat who's too smart, or in this case too talented, for their own good. They've driven down expectations enough that being 10 games over .500 seems wildly successful. It shouldn't be.	C-
Fred Carter	What a fine job Maurice Cheeks is doing with a fragile, volatile team. Their "us against the world" attitude is working right now.	B-
Dr. Jack Ramsay	When Cheeks tightened the rotation, the Blazers came together. Point forward Scottie Pippen runs the offense, with strong input from Derek Anderson, Bonzi Wells and Rasheed Wallace.	A-
Marc Stein	To its credit, Team What Next has shown newfound resiliency, finding ways to win after the what-next part. Wallace's season has been so-so on the floor and tough to take off it -- an arrest, then a suspension -- but 'Sheed is getting help from Wells and Anderson when he needs it.	B-
Bill Walton	Pippen hasn't played this well since his championship days in Chicago, keeping the Blazers in serious contention in the West.	B
	Grade Point Average: 2.8	B-

SACRAMENTO KINGS
	Comment	Grade
Ric Bucher	There's nothing not to like, other than Doug Christie's love-signal habit with his wife, but that's getting picky.	A
Fred Carter	Rick Adelman is doing a great job with a talented team. These guys like each other, they play well together and they could win it all.	A
Dr. Jack Ramsay	They're the best in the wild west, and NBA. The team won't reach full strength until Bobby Jackson returns. Then look out. They're on track to win it all.	A
Marc Stein	Kings of Playing Hurt. This season's Kings of the Big Game. They're Kings of Depth, too, so deep now that Hedo Turkoglu -- West finals starter for Peja Stojakovic -- is suddenly on the scout team.	A
Bill Walton	The Kings are still one of the worst free-throw shooting teams in the league. Improvement here will be required if they want to ensure that the end result will be different from last year (Remember Game 7, Kings fans?).	A
	Grade Point Average: 4.0	A

SEATTLE SUPERSONICS
	Comment	Grade
Ric Bucher	Their youth is nowhere more evident than on the frontline with second-year center Predrag Drobnjak (27) holding senior status. They're at a developmental stage behind Phoenix and Houston because they still have to make a decision on Gary Payton this summer.	C
Fred Carter	They're a middle-of-the-road team, but Nate McMillan has them playing well. They are 12th in field-goal percentage and eighth in assists, but they can't compete without big men to rebound.	C
Dr. Jack Ramsay	It's been an up-and-down season so far, but when healthy, the Sonics might go "boom." They're a playoff challenger.	C+
Marc Stein	Supes rely almost exclusively on perimeter scoring and live off their decent road record. Not the formula to keep an 8-2 start going, and Sonics, predictably, couldn't.	D+
Bill Walton	A very frustrating situation for a team with a lot of talent. Rashard Lewis' inconsistencies are showing the dangers of mega-contracts for role players.	C-
	Grade Point Average: 1.9	C-