S A C R A M E N T O   K I N G S
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Kings at a Glance Coach: Rick Adelman Last Year: 60-22 (Stats) Key Additions: PF Keon Clark Key Losses: None Projected Starters PG Mike Bibby SG Doug Christie SF Peja Stojakovic PF Chris Webber C Vlade Divac Key Subs PG Bobby Jackson SF Hedo Turkoglu PF Keon Clark C Scot Pollard

By John Hollinger, CNNSI.com

The Kings were as close as a team can get to winning a championship without actually winning it. Closer than the cowbells are to the visiting bench at Arco Arena. Closer than Mateen Cleaves was to being in Cleveland. And certainly, closer than Peja Stojakovic's shave.

But they fell short in overtime of Game 7 against the Lakers last year and have had a summer to dwell on their failure. In the offseason, Sacramento opened up the vault for Mike Bibby, added Keon Clark and said to heck with the luxury tax, this is our shot at the title. In addition to Clark, the Kings bring back the same eight players that romped through the regular season last year and gave Shaq and Kobe all they could handle in the conference finals. As a result, three straight years of losing to the Lakers in the playoffs may finally come to an end.

Chris Webber, F -- At least, theoretically. Webber was easily the team's leading scorer during the regular season, and should be its go-to guy in key moments of playoff games. However, Webber has disappeared too often for the Kings' liking. Last year it was Mike Bibby, not Webber, who took all the big shots down the stretch against the Lakers.

But Webber is easily the team's most talented player, and he needs to step up and demand the ball when the game is on the line -- even if he ends up passing it, which he does as well as any big man in the league. Webber scored at least 20 points in all seven games of the Lakers series, so it's not his output that's in question. It's just that in the last two minutes, when the Kings need a basket, he can't be such a shrinking violet.

Outside of that complaint, Webber is a fantastic player. His trial for allegedly lying to a grand jury may become a distraction (especially in the unlikely event that he's in prison during the playoffs), but on the court he gets 10 boards a night, scores in the mid-20s, and passes like a guard. The Kings just need him to play the last two minutes of the game the way he plays the first 46.

Nothing -- The only two weaknesses on the Kings' roster are "third-string point guard" and "Rick Adelman's beard."

The Kings are so strong at so many spots that they can suffer an injury to their second-best player and still nearly beat the world champions in a seven-game series. They can lose their best player for 20 games and go 15-5 without him, as they did to start last season. They have three quality centers in a league where most teams don't have any. None of their top nine players are below average defensively, and only Doug Christie, their best perimeter defender, is below average offensively. They have four players on their bench who would start for at least half the teams in the league. Their big men handle the ball better than most guys who are six inches shorter, and everyone on the team can shoot.

Summing it up, this team has only one weakness: Shaquille O'Neal. That's all that stopped them last year and is probably all that stands in their way again.

Can they beat L.A.?

There's no question left for the Kings other than this one. Their five-game eradication of Dallas in last year's conference semifinals highlighted the gap that exists between the Lakers and Kings and the rest of the league.

As Geoff Petrie has built the Kings from a doormat into a powerhouse, he has been building toward this season. Sacramento has all the pieces in place -- a proven coach in Rick Adelman, a superstar in Chris Webber, solid big men and hordes of skill players. With the possible exception of Vlade Divac, every key player is in his prime. If the past three seasons were tests, this year is the final exam. Either this group is good enough, or they have to go back to the drawing board.

Kings at last

Fast Facts • Vlade Divac led all centers with 3.7 assists per game, while Chris Webber's 4.8 ranked second among power forwards. • The Kings led the NBA in field goals made (3,267) and attempted (7,003) last season.

Minus Peja Stojakovic for much of the series, and having him in only limited doses when he played, Sacramento still played the Lakers even for seven games. It can be argued the Kings were the better team -- they outscored Los Angeles over the seven games and did as much to beat themselves in the decisive Game 7 as the Lakers.

Of course, this brings up the familiar retort about horseshoes and hand grenades. The significance of last year's playoffs is not that the NBA should turn around and crown Sacramento as last year's champion; the Lakers earned it on the court. Rather, it is significant because it shows that even a diminished Kings roster can give the Lakers all they can handle.

This year, it's more of the same. Because they are so deep and talented, the Kings can have things go wrong and still win more than any team in the league. Even without their best player last year, they were a juggernaut -- no other team in the NBA can make that claim. Sacramento owners Joe and Gavin Maloof went over the luxury tax line for one reason: to win a championship. Chances are, their investment will pay off.