Mutombo had a night for the ages against the Wolves.

Every week, we do the ESPN.com Power Rankings and every week the top team, or a team in the top few, loses a game it shouldn't lose. How else can one explain the Heat winning in Portland and Sacramento and then losing to a Warriors team that played without its only good player. With Antawn Jamison on the sidelines, the other Warriors stepped up and won for P.J. By the way, guys, P.J.'s safe for now, so you can go on another 10-game losing spree.

It just so happened that also Tuesday night, the Lakers, suddenly moved out of the top spot, obliterated their L.A. non-rivals in a game that probably made Lamar Odom's agent reach for his cell phone by halftime and start calling teams that want his star client when that contract ends. Not sure how the Clips managed to do that, since they do have some pretty good players. That's a nasty performance.

Anyway, here's Wednesday's version of Around The Rim, summing up what went down on Tuesday, looking ahead and praising the good, while ripping those who just aren't cutting it. Any comments? Click here and e-mail us.

In Heroes and Goats, we have to admit how disappointed we are in Kelvin Cato, the Houston center expected to be a shotblocking, rebounding monster but looking more like Shawn Bradley every day. If that's not reason to start playing better, nothing is. ... John Starks did it all against the Heat -- how badly do you think he was showing off for Riley? Trade for me, now! ... What has gotten into Dikembe's breakfast cereal lately? Who does he think he is, Wilt? ... If you have Dirk Nowitzki in a fantasy league, trade him now. Nellie's going with Gary Trent. ... Nice job outta the Nuggets three main guards (7-for-32 combined) against Seattle. Here's some more. Enjoy.

Heroes ...
D. Mutombo Hawks What's more amazing for him? The 27 points or the 29 boards?	John Starks Warriors 21, 5 and 10 in beating the Heat; Trade for me!	Tracy McGrady Raptors Apparently likes to start; Dropped 21, 7 and 6 on Pacers

... and Goats
Antoine Walker Celtics Shot 4-for-15 vs. Cavs; Kenny Anderson wasn't much better (3-for-10)	Ron Mercer Nuggets Same shooting as Walker; Will he be dealt this week?	Reggie Miller Pacers Pacers are good, but need more than a 1-for-8 from him

Fans at KeyArena get free chalupas from Taco Bell when the Sonics score 110 points or more, and against the defense-friendly Nugs, Seattle was well on its way to reaching that mark. Then, reserves Jelani McCoy and Vladimir Stepania went and missed free throws in the final minute and the Sonics finished with only 109 points. What nerve!

"Between Jelani and Vladimir, they ought to donate about $5,000 and buy chalupas for everybody," Sonics coach Paul Westphal joked.

No truth to the rumor that Vin Baker has something to do with this promotion.

"Unfortunately we can't make the chalupa free throws, but maybe next time," Brent Barry said.

On a serious note, this brings up an interesting point (in some roundabout way) about the Sonics: Are they a team that will play .727 ball all season, or are they a figment of a nice schedule. We get asked this question often, and frankly, before the Sonics beat up Zo and the Heat the other day, we would've said no.

But no, this is clearly a playoff team with the Timberwolves looking like a bad Eastern team and the Nuggets now the leading contenders for the eighth spot. Sure, it's early, but the Sonics wouldn't even need to play .500 ball from here on out to be a top-8 team.

What concerned us about Seattle a month ago still does; After Gary Payton and Vin Baker, where does the team turn for offensive help? Vernon Maxwell has really gone in the tank in the last few weeks, and Chuck Person is probably just as safe a bet to come in and bring instant scoring. Ruben Patterson had a few questionable games but bounced back against the Nuggets, though we must point out that dunks are a pretty easy shot to make. Brent Barry and Horace Grant aren't asked to score, though they do manage to reach double figures most nights. Is that enough?

To make the playoffs in a conference that is top-heavy, and not as deep as the East, yes.

Our Giant
Forget about the playoffs now. The Nets seemed to be turning things around. Kerry Kittles returned and Stephon Marbury made up with Keith Van Horn and -- lo and behold -- the Nets managed to win a few games (though we absolutely cannot understand losing to the Bulls). But now, with Gheorghe Muresan out for two months after he underwent surgery to repair a tear in the cartilage of his left knee, how can the Nets survive?

They can survive and, you heard it here first, will make the playoffs in the East, because there is just too much talent on that team. A 5-16 record may seem bad, and it really is, but it's still only 5 games out of a playoff spot. Jayson Williams is a big key on this team, and he's a few weeks from returning. Players seem to know their roles.

"(Kittles) is the reason we're winning. It's not even taking pressure off, it's just his presence, his creativity. He's the man on our team right now," said Marbury, who has averaged 11.0 assists in the four games with Kittles around. Van Horn has also shot better than 50 percent in each of his last four games. All this because of Kittles, who has been involved in trade talks?

"Keith told me my presence has opened up things for him and he's feeling more relaxed. It's what he's used to," Kittles said. "His first two years, he was used to having me out there, making plays and having a guy always keep his eye on me. He got used to it. He's playing with more confidence, attacking the hoop, trying to get in the paint more."

Whatever it takes, we hope the Nets don't make us look bad by losing their next five games. But even then, it wouldn't be too late for the playoffs.

Not easy to do
You've probably learned to expect some form of sarcasm in each Around The Rim, and since the Clippers played -- or dressed -- last night, they're an easy target.

We'll try to be nice.

As the AP writer at the Lakers-Clips game wrote, the only surprise, perhaps, was that the Clippers didn't already hold the records for worst performance.

Scoring three points in a quarter is tough to do when a guy can actually eclipse that on one play (Matt Bullard had a four-point play last night against the Knicks). No dunks, no fast breaks, not a single jump shot could fall? The Lakers play nice defense, but what about the guy who had Glen Rice covering him? That guy couldn't even score?

"The first half was probably the most embarrassed I've ever been, including everything outside of basketball," said the Clippers' Eric Piatkowski, who missed all of his six shots in the first half. "It hurts a lot and we're probably going to feel twice as bad when we wake up in the morning."

Just wait till he reads the papers.

"You can't really do anything when you have key personnel out," said the Lakers' Kobe Bryant, who scored 18 points. "So you can't really fault them. The effort is there."

But is the effort really there? It's time we talk about the lowly Clippers and say no, the effort can't possibly be there. They have the Rookie of the Year on this team (Lamar Odom). Their center, while not being spectacular, has been getting double doubles a lot recently, and was the top pick in the entire draft (Michael Olowokandi). Their power forward can't rebound at all, but he does manage to score and there may be about 10 teams looking to acquire his services in the offseason when he becomes a free agent (Maurice Taylor). And their two guard, although he didn't play last night, is a candidate for comeback player of the year (Derek Anderson).

That's four nice players, and we submit that Piatkowski serves a purpose and Tyrone Nesby isn't the worst sixth man. Brian Skinner is a good banger emerging as a 10-boards a game rebounder if he got the time and even their bad point guards -- Troy Hudson and Eric Murdock -- can't be blamed for this 5-17 start. They may be backups, but they don't hurt the team that much.

So why do the Clippers lose every night? How do they set standards for futility previously thought impossible? We think it's a curse on the franchise. If Grant Hill played here, he'd stink, too. Ron Mercer, don't go to the "other" L.A. team, cause your game will die. So many good players have been a part of Clipper lore, all left.

There's no explanation. They're just the Clippers.

Quote of the Night
"I don't agree with that. Ain't nothing soft about me. Ain't nothing soft about anybody in here. They're putting that out there a little too much for me."
-- Wiz point guard Rod Strickland after hearing coach Gar Heard call the team soft.

Quote of the Night, Part II
"I sure did run out of gas. I'm not going to fake it. But I was happy to be out there."
-- Cavs reserve Mark Bryant, pressed into more playing time with Shawn Kemp in foul trouble.