There's no sense waiting for a Lakers vs. Celtics reincarnation because there isn't one coming soon. No one in the Leastern Conference, where 2002's top three teams didn't even reach the playoffs in 2001, is close to the Kings' level. Upgraded or not, New Jersey has to do it for more than one season before you'd pick the Nets to earn so much as home-court advantage -- meaning a top-four seed -- in the West. Since …showed first 75 words of 968 total…

…showed last 75 words of 968 total…in the conference finals), knocked us down. By the time we got up and turned around and got our hands up, it was just in time." All this spicy stuff would certainly be tastier if Lakers vs. Kings was a modern-day Celtics vs. Lakers. East vs. West. If you couldn't drive from city to city in six or so hours. But are you going to complain? Or tune in? With this rivalry, there's no question.