Chris Webber had another monster game for the Kings.

Anyway, let's cut right to the chase: Here's Wednesday version of Around The Rim, summing up Tuesday's action. There will be no Friday Around The Rim as we continue to digest our Thanksgiving turkeys. Any other comments, click here and e-mail us.

Right to the Heroes and Goats ... Even if Chris Webber hadn't registered the first triple-double of the season, he may have given a Hero nomination for his sick dunk over statue Gheorghe Muresan. By the way, Gheorghe Muresan? And New Jersey wants to know why it's losing? To be fair, My Giant was pretty effective in his seven minutes, with 4 points, 3 offensive rebounds and the obligatory pair of fouls. ... Where was Derek Anderson last season in Cleveland? He's pretty good. ... And before you write in to say we're too harsh on Shawn Bradley, here are a few points: Even Bruno Sundov (who?) scored for the Mavs last night. Don't tell us Shawn couldn't find the basket. Two blocks and six boards isn't enough.

Heroes ...
Chris Webber Kings First triple-double of the season (26, 22 and 10)	Shawn Kemp Cavaliers 28 and 10 in Blazers upset, and 10-for-10 on FTs	Derek Anderson Clippers Scored 23 vs. Knicks, shut down Allan Houston

... and Goats
Shawn Bradley Mavericks 24 minutes, 0 points. Hit a shot, just one shot...	Mike Bibby Grizzlies 5 points, 3 assists, 4 fouls in loss to Wiz	Chris Childs Knicks 16 minutes, 0 points, 0 assists, 4 fouls. Nice.

There's an I in this team

But Philly will finally give Larry Hughes the chance to show off his stuff. Theo Ratliff will likely step up and Eric Snow will shoot more than three times a game and maybe Billy Owens will try to prove he's not shot. Philly may not top the 80-point mark anytime soon, but they're good enough defensively to compete. If Hughes can make a big shot or two, Philly may not be a whole lot worse. By the way, for argument's sake, the Sixers are 2-8 and have averaged only 85.1 points in games Iverson has missed the last few years. Luckily for Philly, they play in the Eastern Conference. Washington's not even out of the playoff race in the East.

David Aldridge noted the Sixers' not-so-dire situation on NBA 2Night Tuesday. Of course Larry Brown wasn't hoping his best player would get hurt, but this does give the other guys who never shoot, which is pretty much everybody, a chance to gain some confidence and find their games. Or maybe the Sixers will look a lot like the Bulls.

Where art thou, Patrick?

This is no knock on the current Knicks. Latrell Sprewell, Allan Houston and Camby could carry this team to a playoff berth without the big man in the middle, but we think the Knicks have a better chance, in a normal season, to do damage with Ewing, assuming he subscribes to the team concept and not the "I get the ball 30 times a night" theory.

We bring this up because Patrick is practicing and could be playing at an arena near you in two weeks. Rejoice, Knicks fans.

Rockets will take off
It was only one win, and over the Mavs, so let's be cautious. But in the big picture, the Houston Rockets are not really a 3-10 team. That's just their record.

Tough schedule aside, the Rockets had to get a rookie point guard and a new shooting guard into the system with two Hall of Famers who demand the ball a good amount of the time. Steve Francis has done his job, at least on offense (we'd be scared to figure out what opposing point guards have done to him) and Shandon Anderson and Cuttino Mobley are good enough sharing minutes at the 2.

Barkley may not beat Scottie Pippen when the Rockets go to Portland this week, but he'll die trying. In the tough Western Conference the Rockets need to start getting wins fast or they can forget about the postseason. One could certainly argue that the eight Western spots are already reserved for the Blazers, Spurs, Lakers, Kings, Jazz, Wolves, Suns and Sonics. We're just warning you to watch the Rockets. They may not be done yet.

Quote of the Night
"We didn't really deserve to win. We've been lucky and fortunate to have such a great record."
-- Scottie Pippen after last night's loss. Thanks, Scottie, where exactly should we put the Blazers in the Power Rankings? Well?