Gary Payton led the Sonics to their fifth victory with 27 points, nine assists and six rebounds.

This person, the one who wrote the e-mail, not Mr. Bradley, has stated the obvious. I agree with him. Here's what I expect: If Shawn would just block a few shots and get his 8 points and 8 boards I'd be happy. But nooooo, Shawn can't do that. In his last three games, albeit against Shaq and Zo, Shawn has 9 points, 9 boards and 2 blocks -- total. At the risk of being repetitive, we'll leave him out of our Goats for today. There are plenty of other choices.

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Right to the Heroes and Goats ... today, Shawn has a teammate on the list, and you know which list it is. Dallas hasn't played Golden State in a while, thus, they aren't winning. And that Garnett guy, you know, he's pretty good. On the Goat side, let's give some credit to Cedric Henderson of Cleveland, who in his team's 3-2 start has managed to score a total of four points on 2-of-22 shooting; and he starts! You know, he wasn't too bad last season.

Heroes ...
Kevin Garnett Wolves 35, 14 and 4 vs. Knicks. Yeah, this guy's good	Jamal Mashburn Heat Zo and Timmy are tough enough; 34 points vs. Mavs	Jalen Rose Pacers Tallied 17, 8 and 7 vs. Magic

... and Goats
Michael Finley Mavs Every day a new Mav; 2-of-8, 4 points	Cedric Henderson Cavs Didn't score, missed all five shots	Charlie Ward Knicks He and running mate Childs shot 4-of-18 vs. Wolves

The Magic tumbled last night in Indiana, which should be expected, but Doc has gotten wins vs. Detroit and Philly, albeit two struggling teams, and in Washington and Houston, two more struggling teams. Losses were in Charlotte and Indiana, home to Cleveland. Granted, the teams the Magic have beaten have THREE wins, but the point is, this team isn't 1972-73 Sixers bad either. (Golden State, that's another story).

Orlando's best player is point guard Darrell Armstrong, and he doesn't need to score for the team to win. Bo Outlaw does the dirty work, Ben Wallace and Tariq Abdul-Wahad play defense, Chris Gatling provides punch (Not Barkley punch, but scoring punch) and Pat Garrity, with 86 points in only 117 minutes, is just unconscious. John Amaechi and Monty Williams contribute, Michael Doleac has a future and rookie Corey Maggette is learning. Doc plays all 12 guys normally. Matt Harpring and Derek Strong are hurt but will also find time eventually.

That's not an impressive roster. So why does the team win, or better yet, compete every night?

"We usually are the aggressors in the fourth quarter and have all the energy," Garrity said after the Pacers loss. "Tonight, it was reversed. Tonight, we were missing that energy."

That's they key. Doc makes the team try. So, have we been mean when discussing the Magic in the past month? Yes we have. Doc Rivers is not the team's best player. Is Orlando good, or just opportunistic? Too early to tell. But they don't stink. Now, the Warriors...

Payton's place
Why is Seattle off to such a good start? Well, until the Sonics won in Cleveland last night, you could point to a friendly schedule in which the wins were over the Clippers, Dallas, Washington and a nice one vs. Utah.

But now it's time to realize that Vin Baker is not the pig he was last year, Ruben Patterson has game, Brent Barry can fit in, Paul Westphal can coach, etc...

SHAQ'S LINE FOLLIES

Shaq didn't play last night, and he's not likely to suit up tonight because of his little skirmish with Charles Barkley. But we have other bricklayers to highlight. Shaq's season: 23-for-65, .354 percent So today let's look at the Spurs. Tim Duncan (.643), Terry Porter (.688) and David Robinson (.565) are the three leading scorers in San Antone. Avery Johnson and Samaki Walker are traditionally weak at the line. Quick question: When will this catch up to the Spurs?

Baker may be the key here. Let's remember that before he gorged himself during the lockout and reported so heavy to the team that he managed to neither score nor rebound much nor make any free throws, he was a pretty good player. Baker's career shooting percentage is around 50 percent and his points and boards are always healthy. Last year, let's call it an aberration. Just don't shoot 45 percent from the line again, Vin.

Gary Payton's averaging more than 20 and 10 and Barry and Vernon Maxwell have found ways to help the team as the other main guards. Barry doesn't shoot much, about seven times a game, but he rebounds and passes and plays defense. Maxwell does nothing but shoot, but when he's on, he's tough.

Patterson is a guy to watch. The Sonics entered the preseason with four guys vying for the small forward position, in Patterson, Rashard Lewis, Jelani McCoy and Lazaro Borrell. The first three are all second-year guys. McCoy is really a center. Lewis and McCoy are playing, though not contributing much. The Sonics only have six guys scoring more than four points a night. But it's Patterson, at 16 points, 6 boards and .547 shooting who is the biggest surprise.

"I know I can play this game," Patterson said. "I just wanted a chance. And I'm showing the world. Everybody has seen me now, and everybody is like, 'Who is this Ruben Patterson guy?' "

Now we know.

Quote of the night
"I can't let him hit me and get away with it. My grandma would be mad at me if I let him get away with it. I had to defend myself."
-- The now-suspended Charles Barkley on Shaquille O'Neal.