The Rockets will not ask him to carry the offense. But coach Rudy Tomjanovich already believes Thomas belongs on an exclusive list.

"The amazing thing was Kenny Thomas probably played as good a defensive game at the power forward position as anybody ever," Tomjanovich raved about Thomas' Tuesday matchup with the Hawks' Abdur-Rahim. "He took the ball away from him three or four times, denied the ball. It was just amazing."

Abdur-Rahim did not leave town feeling as if he had been shut down; he had 28 points and 18 rebounds. But he scored just one basket in the last six minutes of the fourth quarter and the overtime session.