In the West, there are the Lakers. And then, everybody else.

But the gap may be closing.

	“	In the playoffs, our mentality is going to be we're a damned good team, and we can beat everybody. But can don't mean nothing until you do it. ”
		— Webber

The Timberwolves are playing their best basketball in franchise history. And the Kings are fresh off a 12-game winning streak that's left them at the top of the Pacific Division. Both have suffered the bad taste of playoff failures the last several years. Both made significant personnel changes in the offseason. Both have a nice buildup of hatred for the two-time champs. And both believe it's their time to break through.

The Wolves impress. The Kings intrigue. The Lakers are giving away games to inferior teams -- games that might hurt them for best record down the stretch. I say might. And while I still don't think Sacramento has enough size and fouls to slow Shaq down, the Kings have a lot of everything else.

"We've grown," Chris Webber says. "We've had all the flash and the TV games. We want to win a championship."

The core of the group is in its third year together: Webber, Vlade Divac, Peja Stojakovic, Scot Pollard. It's that group that was style -- exciting style, to be sure -- but no substance in 2000. A little more serious last year, with Doug Christie and Bobby Jackson aboard. But with a chance to win the Pacific the last week of the regular season, Sacramento messed around and blew it. That meant the Lakers in the second round, and a quick, unlamented death.

"We had the best record at halftime last season," Webber said. "That was the first time in my career that I'd been on a team that good. But then we got the third-best record by one game. To the Lakers. In a series against the Lakers, that might have meant everything, having our first game at home. In the playoffs, our mentality is going to be we're a damned good team, and we can beat everybody. But can don't mean nothing until you do it."

The other night against the Blazers, the Kings fell behind quickly to a Portland team trying to make its own statement. In years past, the Kings would have started jacking up rushed shots, making behind the neck passes, taking chances on D. Maybe they would have gotten back in the game; they're that talented. But more likely, without their rabid home fans to stoke them, they would have folded.

ALDRIDGE'S RANKINGS

THE TOP 10 1. Minnesota 2. Sacramento 3. Dallas 4. L.A. Lakers 5. Milwaukee 6. San Antonio 7. New Jersey 8. Boston 9. Philadelphia 10. Indiana THE BOTTOM FIVE 25. New York 26. Miami 27. Golden State 28. Memphis 29. Chicago THE MIDDLE FOURTEEN 11. Phoenix 12. Utah 13. Seattle 14. Toronto 15. Orlando 16. Charlotte 17. Portland 18. Detroit 19. Washington 20. L.A. Clippers 21. Cleveland 22. Houston 23. Denver 24. Atlanta

This time, they grinded. Webber dueled Rasheed Wallace in a power forward matchup that was as good as it gets. Even though Stojakovic wasn't at his best, the Kings hung around because they worked for good shots and played smart. They didn't win because Bonzi Wells hit everything he threw up in the extra session, but showed a maturity of purpose not normally associated with them, especially on the road.

"I really like our group," Coach Rick Adelman said. "I think if we just keep working, we're going to be a very difficult team to beat by the end of the year."

The obvious difference, of course, is Mike Bibby at the point instead of Jason Williams. His ex-teammates don't want to come right out and dog J Will. But the difference between how Bibby plays the position and how Williams plays it is meaningful.

"Mike is, I should say, mature, right now," Divac said. "I'm not saying Jason isn't going to be. But (Bibby) is running the team in a good direction."

But can the Kings beat the Lakers? The answer might lie in Stojakovic. He should make his first All-Star appearance in Philadelphia, but if Sacramento is going to have a chance against Los Angeles, Stank is going to have to improve on his .397 career postseason field goal percentage. He's going to have to be as tough away from Arco Arena as he is at home. Last season, he got taken out of his game by Shawn Marion in the first round, and was rendered mute by Rick Fox in the conference semis.

"Peja's still finding out that guys are gonna grab, hold, foul basically, and he's not going to get the calls on the road," Adelman says. "So he's got to learn how to play. Sometimes you get so anxious to get the ball, to make a play, that he takes himself out of it. We run things sometimes where we just want the ball in his hands, and we play out of that. But if he doesn't get the ball in his hands, we're in trouble."

"If Peja misses 50 threes in a row," Webber says, "he better take the next one, or he's gonna have to deal with me."

	Stojakovic

But I can't take the Kings seriously as a title contender until they become dominant on the road. They're almost impossible to beat at Arco (23-1 entering play Thursday), but under .500 on the road and just 1-5 on the road against Pacific opponents. When you think about it, that makes them no different than the Clippers. Real teams beat good teams on the road, and so far, the Kings only have two quality wins away from home: at Dallas and at San Antonio on consecutive nights at the end of November.

The next few weeks, though, provide an opportunity: at Utah, at Minnesota, at New Jersey, at Boston. Time for this group, in whom Gavin and Joe Maloof have invested multiple millions this past summer, to show they belong with the elite.

"I've been in the league a long time," Divac says. "You don't have too many opportunities to go all the way. This team is in a position to do it."

Rumors, rumors, rumors
Could the Pacers be looking toward the Pacific Northwest as their search for a big man continues? Sources indicate Indiana has interest in Vin Baker, who they see as fully capable of moving from power forward out West to center in the big-man depleted East. But (right now, at least) the Sonics aren't looking to add the kind of salaries (Austin Croshere, for one) that will eat into potential 2003 cap room. And the Pacers won't move Jalen Rose unless it's for the likes of Rasheed Wallace -- which, right now, it isn't. Late last week, the rumor mill heated up with talk of a megadeal between Portland and Indiana (Scottie Pippen and Bonzi Wells for Rose and Croshere, plus cap friendly extras), to the point where players thought the deal was imminent. Bad information is everywhere this time of year -- which is, again, why I don't talk about rumors. Normally.