Kings eye NBA throne once again

SACRAMENTO: Any revenge fantasies involving the Los Angeles Lakers must remain just that for at least a month longer.

In the Sacramento Kings’ fifth straight trip to the playoffs, they’ve got more important tasks to complete first. Their first-round opponents are the Utah Jazz, who lost to Sacramento in the first round last season. If the Kings advance against a team they’ve beaten in seven of their last eight regular-season meetings, they’ll face slumping Dallas or inconsistent Portland in the second round.

Nearly a year after their thrilling Western Conference finals loss to the three-time champions, the Kings are back almost exactly where they were last April: winners of the Pacific Division, with a roster at full strength and high hopes for their first championship since 1951. And after the playoff shuffle on the final day of the regular season, the Kings also ended up in what might be the best possible playoff position for their championship aspirations. “I like the way it looks for us, but you know we’re not looking beyond Game One on Saturday,” guard Bobby Jackson said. “Our only goal this season was to get a championship, and I think we’re in a good position to reach our goal. You’re not going to catch me looking at the conference finals, though.”

The Lakers and the San Antonio Spurs — easily Sacramento’s two most difficult opponents this season — both ended up in the other bracket. The Kings won’t face either team before the conference finals. The Mavericks were the NBA’s best team for most of the season, but Sacramento won three of their four meetings. Last spring, the Kings trounced Dallas in five matches in the conference semi-finals. It’s easy for Sacramento fans to get excited about this turn of events, but the Kings refused to look that far ahead after a film session on Thursday at their training complex.

When asked his thoughts on the Kings’ fortunate breaks in the playoff picture, coach Rick Adelman laughed. “There’s no break in this league,” he said. “You think playing the Utah Jazz is a good break? That’s crazy.” Still, it’s clear the Kings have few reasons to complain about their situation. Their entire high-scoring roster is finally healthy — Chris Webber’s nagging ankle injury aside — and they finished the regular season with 13 wins in 15 matches. The Kings were the NBA’s best home team for the third time in four seasons, and their average of nearly 102 points per game was third in the league. They’re a deeper team this season, with Keon Clark and Jim Jackson adding veteran experience to the same core that nearly knocked off the three-time champions largely without All-Star Peja Stojakovic, who was injured. Everything is in place for another playoff run — and it begins against the Jazz for the third time in five years.

Last season, the Jazz put a scare into the Kings with two outstanding efforts in Sacramento. Utah barely lost Game One and won Game Two — a day after centre Vlade Divac said the Jazz were “done.” While the Kings generally run their up-tempo offence at will during the regular season, Utah has been remarkably successful in slowing the pace to its famously deliberate style. Game Two is on Monday night at Arco Arena — but the teams won’t play again until the following Saturday in Salt Lake City. The change to a best-of-seven format in the first round was expected to lessen the interminable first-round delays of past seasons — but the Kings and the Jazz will be waiting around anyway.