Jeff Hornacek and the Jazz have won seven straight games.

Just another night in the NBA.

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

In Heroes and Goats, we'll say this about Nick Anderson -- he's pretty consistent. In games against two of the worst defensive teams in the league, Nick managed to produce back-to-back 0-fers, missing six shots each game and adding four boards. Not easy to do. ... It looked like Isaac Austin was actually playing better, but not like the guy who manned the middle for the Wiz on Thursday. ... And after whining about playing time for the last week, Marcus is saying, "Patrick who?" Here's some more. Enjoy.

Heroes ...
Jahidi White Wizards First start produced 19 and 8 on 9-for-11 FGs	Nick Van Exel Nuggets 38, 7 and 10 vs. dismal defensive sieve Jason Williams	Marcus Camby Knicks Schooled Shawn and Dirk for 17, 12 and 5 blocks

... and Goats
Nick Anderson Kings Do we make Nick a regular Goat? 0-for-12 the last two games.	Vin Baker Sonics Sweet 4-for-15 effort vs. Blazers	Jim Jackson Hawks Ouch, my knee. Shot 3-for-15 vs. Glen Rice? Ouch again.

People write in to tell us that the Jazz and Pacers don't belong among the NBA's elite because they are too old. But last season, these teams were among the top teams in the regular season and if not for a poor playoff series against the Portland and New York, respectively, these teams may have been in the Finals. Or maybe not. Whatever, we still give a veteran team like these a better shot of going far in the playoffs than young guns Sacramento and Toronto. (Start the e-mails on that comment!)

The Jazz and Pacers haven't changed much over the years. The nucleus of their rosters has stayed together while other teams make a million moves in search of the right combo.

"Other teams make moves and try to get better, but sometimes it seems that teams actually get better by keeping their players together," Pacers forward Chris Mullin said. "It's all about consistency, and playing to your strengths and staying away from your weaknesses. It's not that hard. Sometimes guys want to be things they're not. Or be what's in vogue."

What's in vogue is winning, so a combined 13 straight wins by these teams is in vogue. It may be fun to watch Jason Williams and Tracy McGrady, but experience is worth a lot in the NBA, and Karl Malone and Reggie Miller have it.

When Miller is on, which is impossible to predict since he's shooting only .402 and had another 1-for-8 game the other day, the Pacers are tough. The amazing thing about them is the production they get from Al Harrington and Austin Croshere. They are deep, and unlike the Jazz, have young talent for when the old guys take off.

Whipping boys
We are normally pretty cruel in ripping Mavs pseudo-center Shawn Bradley, so why should we change now? What the Mavs' centers -- or lack thereof -- have accomplished so far this season is really, really bad and explains why a team with several dependable scorers (Michael Finley, Cedric Ceballos, Gary Trent, Dirk Nowitzki) still loses so much. Don Nelson actually started Dirk at center on Thursday, a loss to the Knicks.

Entering the Knicks game, the Mavericks had received only 11.3 points and 8.6 rebounds per game from Bradley and Sean Rooks, which is horrible and less than Dale Davis alone. You think Milwaukee's happy with Robert Traylor and Scott Williams or Phoenix is content with Luc Longley, Oliver Miller and Mark West? Of course not, but Bradley was one of the top picks in a draft and stands 7-6. Nelson needs a solution.

As a team, the Mavericks have not yet outrebounded an opponent. They have been outrebounded 24 times and tied Sacramento the other game. For the season, the Mavericks have been outrebounded by 11.8 per game. The Fred Carter-led 1972-73 76ers had the worst record in NBA history at 9-73, and they were outrebounded by only 6.2 per game. No NBA team in this decade has been outrebounded by double figures for a full season. The Mavs are on their way.

"I wouldn't blame any position or any one or two players," Nelson said.

We disagree. The return of Trent will help. But it really comes down to Bradley, who, at 7-6, should be able to grab eight boards a game in his sleep. But he can't. Milwaukee is the league's worst rebounding team, but Bradley managed only three rebounds in 22 minutes against the Bucks on Dec. 5, while also going 0-for-8 from the field.

So you can see, while we complain a lot about Shawn, it's legitimate.

"Maybe I'm not as involved as I was last year, but I still have to go out and block shots and get rebounds," Shawn surmised. Thanks, Shawn, we appreciate the effort.

Says Nellie: "He's had a couple of stretches where he's been as bad as I've ever seen him since he's been here. But he's had a couple of very good efforts, too."

Don't judge, Nellie, you've had some bad efforts as well.

	SHAQ'S LINE FOLLIES
	Shaq had arguably his worst game of the season on Thursday, netting only nine points and fouling out in a mere 28 minutes against Dikembe Mutombo. He wasn't very good from the line, either, but we could have told you that in the pregame show. Anyway... Shaq on Thursday: 1-for-5 Shaq for year: 107-253 (.423)

Ouch!
Last night against the Kings, Nuggets guard Chauncey Billups dislocated his left shoulder going for a rebound. Raef LaFrentz played 13 minutes in the first half, did not score, and did not return in the second half because of nausea.

But what Robert Pack did, that was different. Pack is hurt more than he's healthy. He missed 10 games his rookie year in Portland. He missed 16 games in year three with Denver and 40 in year four. Then with Washington, he played in 31 games in 1995-96. Jersey took a shot, and Pack gave them some games before moving on to Dallas. In 1997-98, he played in 12 games. Last season he played in 25.

Check the highlights on this one. Last night against the Knicks, Patrick Ewing and Larry Johnson dumped him to the floor on a drive. Pack suffered a sprained left wrist, sprained foot and bruised right knee on one play! Don't look for him to play again (this is purely hypothesis) for another month.

Next
Vince Carter was recently named ESPN The Magazine's NEXT 2000 Athlete, and is on the cover of the special year-end issue, which, as they like to say in the business, is on newsstands now.

Anyway, it's good stuff. And ESPN will air a half-hour special entitled "ESPN The Magazine NEXT," fashioned after the special issue, on Dec. 25 at midnight ET. The show will re-air Jan. 1, 2000, at 7 p.m. ET.

Wow, is it really almost 2000?

Quote of the Night
"I don't like to have two bad games in a row."
-- Shaquille O'Neal on what Radoslav Nesterovic and the Timberwolves can expect on Friday night.

Quote of the Night, Part II
"I don't disrespect Jason. I respect his game 100 percent. I just said that if I came into the league the way he did, I would get looked at in a different way. I was just speaking the truth. We shook hands before the game. It's no big deal. I don't have anything to prove."
-- Nick Van Exel, after saying Jason Williams would be frowned upon if he were black instead of white. He had also just lit him up for 38 points.