It's time for Kelvin Cato to step up on offense as well as defense.

Also on Wednesday, we saw the Kings beat up the Lakers, the latest in a line of top choices in the Power Rankings losing a day or two after the list came out. It wasn't a big surprise that Sacramento won; they've been looking for respect leaguewide all season. They'll get two more chances to prove it when they face Miami and Portland this weekend.

Not a lot of games on Thursday night, but still some noteworthy performances. here's Friday's version of Around The Rim, summing up the action from Thursday, looking ahead and praising the good and ripping those who just aren't cutting it. Any comments, click here and e-mail us.

In Heroes and Goats, How much longer will Shareef Abdur-Rahim want to be on a team going nowhere? He does the job pretty much every night, but his center (last night it was Cherokee Parks, not that he's much better than Bryant Reeves), inconsistent guards and true lack of a bench make it tough for the Grizz to win games. The Spurs are eminently beatable. It took a huge effort from Tim Duncan to avoid the loss of the year. ... Terry Porter can't be a Goat because his team won, but he went scoreless in 20 minutes Thursday. The Spurs need this guy. ... Rod Strickland and Mitch Richmond shot eight-for-22 against the Suns. Any wonder why that team doesn't win? Here's some more. Enjoy.

Heroes ...
Tim Duncan Spurs Saved team from bad, bad loss with career-high 42 on 15-of-22	Clifford Robinson Suns Helped shoot down Wiz with 31 on 11-of-17	Rasheed Wallace Blazers 23 points on 7-of-9 shooting vs. Wolves

... and Goats
Rod Strickland Wizards Shoots 2-for-7 in uninspiring loss to Suns. At least he hit a shot...	Tracy Murray Wizards ...because Murray missed all seven of his shots and had three fouls	Malik Sealy Wolves Missed open layup and dunk in last minute of loss to Blazers

With question marks in the frontcourt in Houston, expect Steve Francis and, yes, Shandon Anderson to run the team and score the points. Francis was doing that already, but now he has to look a little harder to get the ball down low for posting up. Anderson can post up smaller guards, though what he accomplished in the last two games (0-for-8 from the field) does make us wonder a bit. He is shooting quite well, though, for the season, near 50 percent before this week.

Kelvin Cato now isn't only a replacement for Olajuwon. The Rockets could certainly play a twin towers sort of lineup down the road, but only if Cato develops more. His offensive game, despite a 23-point outing in his first start, is not complete at all. He's raw on offense but insiders say he does have moves and a nice touch, but he was never the focus of an offense. That might change now. On defense, assuming he stays out of foul trouble, there's no reason why he can't grab the boards Barkley was getting.

The Rockets could move Anderson to the small forward spot and start Cuttino Mobley at the two-guard. It's a small lineup, but well equipped to run and with Cato available to swat shots, it might work. Walt Williams has been playing the three, and not real well. He's still shooting less than 40 percent, though he's making his threes. Basically, the Rockets' top players now, other than Cato, are all small players (Francis, Anderson, Mobley and Williams).

So who's this Kenny Thomas guy, can he play? And is this the same Tony Massenburg that has been with 10 teams in eight seasons? And Carlos Rogers -- what a guy from the Pippen trade? Yes to all three.

Thomas is a 6-8 rookie from New Mexico who may have a little Barkley in him. He garnered 10 boards a game his senior year in school and has a good enough low post game to score, though he's not the biggest power forward. He played 25 minutes in the 76ers game and got 10 shots. He scored 15 against the Suns on Dec. 4 and will be given a chance to play.

Massenburg has always been able to score and rebound when given the chance. He missed the Philly game and the nine games prior to that with a groin injury. In the past with Vancouver, New Jersey, Philadelphia and the Clippers he has been a dependable low-post threat who is usually good for 10 points and 6 rebounds a night. If Thomas isn't ready, Massenburg, a guy who averaged 11.2 points and 6 rebounds last season with the Grizz, should start.

Rogers is the typical big man with all the ability but never produces. He's already gone from the Warriors to the Raptors to Portland and now Houston. Health is normally a problem, as is consistency. He makes the shots he takes (better than 50 percent every year, 52.6 for career) but the rest is questionable. With the Raptors he liked to attempt threes. The Raptors didn't want their big man doing that. Rogers got a season-high 31 minutes in Philly and produced 13 points and 7 boards. He has a pair of double-doubles already this season. He's the best bet of the big men here to play the most minutes right now, starting Friday in Boston.

Something's gotta give
There are major problems with the NBA team in Washington, and expect something to change soon. Gar Heard is probably safe; you can't pin this 5-16 start all on him. Instead, pin it on a trio of veterans (and others) just not getting the job done.

Mitch Richmond leads this team in scoring with 14.5 points a game. No other NBA team has its leader with so few points. Maybe the Wiz do it with balance; Rod Strickland and Juwan Howard are also in double figures and four others get seven-plus points a night. But it's not enough.

Richmond is shooting .392. Strickland's at .388 and his assist-to-turnover ratio is less than 3-to-1. Howard's not even getting five boards a night. Isaac Austin's been a big disappointment and rookie Richard Hamilton landed himself on the injured list this week with a sprained pinky finger. A sprained pinky finger? Tracy Murray, a top three-point threat who actually had a 50-point game not too long ago, is making less than one three a night and after his big zero on Thursday is shooting .389.

"If they want to be a mediocre team and just say the season's over, then let me know," Heard said, "Then I can play the kids on the bench. At least I'll get some effort and energy. ... We're going to find an answer."

Defensively, the Wizards are brutal. The Suns, struggling to shoot the ball and especially Clifford Robinson and Tom Gugliotta who combined for 58 points on them, made 64 percent of their shots in building a huge lead after three periods.

"We let two guys get 58 points on us and they've been struggling all year," Heard said. "At some point in time, you have to lay a guy down and say this isn't going to happen."

What's Heard to do? The team has a lot of salary tied up in the four underachieving members of the starting lineup. The bench is no better. Murray wants to be dealt. Aaron Williams and Michael Smith are rebounders doing their jobs. When will everyone else?

UNBEARA-BULLS

As we wrote on Wednesday, Shaq gets a bye week of sorts from his "Shaq Line Follies" so we can highlight just how bad the Chicago Bulls are. On Wednesday the Bulls lost to Cleveland by 14. The three players who scored in double figures that game were Corey Benjamin, Will Perdue and Randy Brown. With Toni Kukoc out and Elton Brand missing from that game, the Bulls are a decent college team. Here's today's Bulls stat of the day to help prove why they've won but one game so far. Bulls blocks leaders: Elton Brand: 19 Will Perdue: 16 Randy Brown?: 8 Ron Artest: 5

Upcoming Anniversaries
Five Years Ago Friday
December 10, 1994
Dallas Coach Dick Motta moved into third place on the all-time wins list (passing Jack Ramsay), with 865 career victories, following the Mavericks' 99-86 win over visiting Charlotte. Motta currently stands fifth on the all-time list with 935 victories.

15 Years Ago Saturday
December 11, 1984
The Boston Celtics beat the New Jersey Nets 130-121 at Hartford as the two teams combined to shoot a record .632 (108-for-171) from the field.

40 Years Ago Saturday
December 11, 1959
Richie Guerin scored 57 points, at the time the most ever by a Knick, as New York defeated Syracuse 152-121. His team record was broken by Bernard King 25 years later.

15 Years Ago Sunday
December 12, 1984
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scored 15 points to become the first player in NBA history to surpass 32,000 career points in the Lakers' 131-107 victory over Golden State. Abdul-Jabbar remains the only NBA player to achieve 32,000 points.

Five Years Ago Monday
December 13, 1994
Philadelphia's Willie Burton set a Spectrum scoring record by pouring in 53 points during the Sixers' 105-90 win over Miami. That broke the previous scoring high at the Spectrum of 52 points, set by Michael Jordan during the 1988-89 season.

Five Years Ago Wednesday
December 15, 1994
Recognizing that three-point field goals were becoming more frequent at a shorter distance, the NBA announced that it was changing the statistical minimum, from 50 to 82, of the number of three-point baskets needed in order for a player to qualify for the three-point field goal percentage title.

15 Years Ago Wednesday
December 15, 1984
Gus Williams of the Washington Bullets recorded his 1,404th steal during a 109-103 loss to the L.A. Clippers to become, at the time, the NBA's all-time leader in that category. John Stockton of Utah currently is the all-time leader with 2,731 career steals.

Quote of the Night
"We're making mental mistakes, and our offense doesn't seem to have any rhythm to it. And as a result, we are turning the ball over. Our defense is what is keeping us together so far."
-- Portland's Scottie Pippen after a scare against the Timberwolves on Thursday.

Quote of the Night, Part II
"There is no such thing as a moral victory. The guys in the locker room are still disappointed because they feel like they missed a great opportunity to pick up a win over the defending champions."
-- Grizzlies coach Brian Hill after almost beating the Spurs.