Penny's injury history makes this latest one no real surprise.

There were actually some pretty revealing on-the-court things that happened this weekend as well.

Anyway, here's Monday's version of Around The Rim, summing up what went down over the past few days, 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're sticking to Sunday's action, but did anyone see what Ron Artest did on Saturday? You hate to see a rookie shoot 0-for-13, but at least he kept shooting and had a pretty decent all-around game considering. Of course, he's shooting .371 now. ... People say the Clips never keep their free agents. Well, they kept Eric Piatkowski, didn't they? He's not nothing. Or is he? ... A.C. Green is the perfect four for the Lakers. He took one shot Sunday. He's no Hero, but close to it. ... Looks like Jamie Feick figured out a way to avoid having his shot blocked repeatedly by Dikembe Mutombo. Stay outta the lane. Here's some more. Enjoy.

Heroes ...
Kobe Bryant Lakers Schooled McGrady for 26 points in Laker win	Jamie Feick Nets 16 and 13 vs. Dikembe; When's Jayson returning?	Michael Dickerson Grizzlies Lit up Clips for 26; Must be Hollins' coaching

... and Goats
Tracy McGrady Raptors Shot for 2-for-10 vs. Lakers, only 1 assist.	Bimbo Coles Hawks Still holding off Terry despite games like Sunday (2-for-7 FG)	Eric Piatkowski Clippers In 21 minutes, misses both shots. He's no Derek Anderson.

It's pretty easy, actually.

Unless Chris Webber plans to go triple-double every night, the Kings just aren't as good as the other top Western teams. If Denver stays hot then the Kings will soon be the No. 8 seed in the West, which is fine if you just want to make the playoffs, but the Kings probably felt they were a lot closer to No. 1 than that.

But eventually, poor play from the starting two-guard and small forward, as well as very inconsistent performances from the point guard and to some degree that famed Bench Mob has made the Kings look a lot like a mid-range Eastern team, which includes just about every Eastern team other than the Bulls.

Sacramento plays Golden State tonight and frankly, this game's looking pretty good to the Warriors. Webber is hurting, and he's about all they have on a night to night basis. Vlade Divac isn't a go-to guy, and Jason Williams, while continuing to show the flash, misses far too many shots. And finally, if the Kings had begun the season 5-5 instead of 9-1, you can bet Nick Anderson would no longer be starting and would be playing 15 minutes a night off the bench. Corliss Williamson might be there as well.

What's wrong with Nick? Well, how about the fact that he just isn't that good. There's nothing wrong with him. He hasn't shot well in years. Orlando certainly knew this and jumped at the chance to move him. Anderson had back-to-back games last week in which he shot 0-for-6 and didn't score. For the season Nick is not getting it done, though we admit he brings leadership and decent defense to the table. However, he's at .352 from the field (higher than Williams, by the way) and has gotten to the line only 11 times, an early leader for our negative stat of the season.

Other problems in Sac Land: Defense is a big issue, as teams are scoring more than 110 points recently at will; Jon Barry was a big key off the bench when he was playing, but without him the bench isn't nearly as effective; Williams still turns the ball over too much and launches too many quick threes on the fast break.

Poor David Stern. He had such high hopes for the Kings. Considering this team is on TV every other day starting in January, he'd better hope the losing stops soon.

Allen and Larry
Allen Iverson is not going to be traded. No way, no how. Not a chance.

Forget about the fact that Iverson may lead the league in scoring. Or that he's a tenacious defender who might also lead the league in steals. And forget that he's tough to deal with as a person. He's just too good and worth too much money not only for what he brings to the court, but for the entire package. Of the 18,000 showing up for Sixers' games at the First Union Center each game, half of them are wearing Iverson jerseys. The Geiger jerseys just don't sell.

Sure, Larry Brown's probably wishing he was somewhere -- anywhere -- else right now, but he also realizes that the 76ers have a chance to do some major damage if they get Iverson on the same page with the other 11 players and the coaches. Philly plays great defense and has enough scoring options to beat any team. Last season was just the beginning, as Philly went into Indiana all cocky in the playoffs, though they lost all the close games and were swept.

The Eastern Conference remains wide open, and the Sixers, despite missing Iverson, Matt Geiger and Theo Ratliff for huge stretches, are still right there at 13-13.

After a tumultuous weekend in which he said he didn't fit in and demanded a trade and said "Something's got to give," Iverson and Brown pretty much made up on Monday. Watch the Sixers show it on the court Monday night against Detroit.

	SHAQ'S LINE FOLLIES
	Antonio Davis did the job against Shaq when he was on offense Sunday night, but also had his troubles when he was on defense. Shaq had 24 and 15 and got to the line a bunch of times, where he did the usual. Shaq on Sunday: 6-for-13 Shaq for year: 117-277 (.422)

Playing the Hardaway
Both NBA Hardaways -- Tim and Penny -- are out of the lineup this week and have been for a few weeks. It's not just a fantasy issue with moving guys in and out of your lineup. The Heat and Suns want to know what is up as well.

Let's start with the Heat. Anthony Carter is probably a real nice guy and may have a nice future, but he is merely a rookie and the Heat will go no place with him at the point. Alonzo Mourning is having an MVP-type season and Jamal Mashburn's return to stardom has been a great story, but Tim Hardaway gives the Heat another three-point threat, he can drive, he finds the open man, and most importantly, he's a leader. However, he also has no cartilage in his knee and is nearing a premature end to his career because of it.

Tim Hardaway has been teasing us for the past three weeks with his expected return. He tells teammates he won't return at 90 percent, but only at 100. He's been day-to-day for weeks.

"You can't use Tim's absence as an excuse, because we were playing very well at one time without him," P.J. Brown said. "There's no reason we shouldn't be doing the same thing right now."

Yes, but it's like the Sixers without Iverson. Aaron McKie can score 20 a night for only so many games.

In Phoenix, Jason Kidd has elevated his game as a result of Penny's injury. But he can't produce a triple-double every night. Hardaway is suffering from plantar faciaitis and has missed seven straight games. He ran on Saturday and said he was encouraged by how the foot felt.

"I can slowly see some light at the end of the tunnel," he said. "It's not just dark anymore.

What is dark is the Suns' chances without him. Clifford Robinson has been playing out of his mind along with Kidd recently, but the Suns are going to have trouble beating top teams without Penny, Tom Gugliotta and even to a lesser degree the depth they get from Luc Longley (so Oliver Miller can man the bench) and rookie Shawn Marion.

Quote of the Night
"If I'm hurting this team, I need to get out of here. I don't like what is going on. When I get back to Philly, I'll let that be known. However you look at it, I'm going to be the bad guy, but I'll deal with it."
-- Allen Iverson on Saturday night.

Quote of the Night, Part II
"I love Philadelphia. I love playing here. I love the fans. I want to finish my career here."
-- Iverson on Monday.

Eric Karabell is the NBA editor at ESPN.com.