On the first possession of the first game of the first season in which they open as title contenders, the Sacramento Kings threw the ball into their starting power forward on the low post ... and Scot Pollard splashed in a jump hook.

	Pollard's play and persona make the Kings -- even without Webber -- a solid team.

And the major storyline for the first month of the Western Conference was established. The first month at least.

The Spurs have a new full-time point guard (Antonio Daniels), not to mention two new-to-San Antonio starters (shooting guard Steve Smith and small forward Bruce Bowen). The Lakers have Shaquille O'Neal working his way back from offseason toe surgery. The Portland Trail Blazers have Maurice Cheeks on the sidelines, Derek Anderson in the backcourt and Dale Davis, prominent last season anyway, in as the permanent No. 1 center. But no one else among the elite in the West came out Tuesday or Wednesday night in such a hold-it-together, hang-tough-for-now mode, having to start the new season with the absence of close to their best player -- L.A. still had Shaq and Kobe Bryant, San Antonio Tim Duncan, the Mavericks Michael Finley, Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash, Utah Karl Malone and John Stockton, Portland Rasheed Wallace.

The Kings did not have Chris Webber.

The Kings won't have Chris Webber.

What the Kings do have is a choice from among Pollard, Hidayet Turkoglu and Lawrence Funderburke. So they have options. They just don't have any that come without considerable potential for risk. Face the possibility of being exposed at another position. Face the possibility of poor Hedo getting some body part exposed to black-and-blue marks.

Webber hasn't played since spraining his left ankle in the Oct. 14 exhibition game against Dallas, an injury expected to keep him out four to six weeks, or possibly until December. And even when he does return to the lineup, no one can possibly expect it to be at 100 percent since C-Webb -- short for Cob-Webbs -- won't have so much been able to maintain a reasonable level of stamina, the way he could have been running if the problem was a wrist or shoulder. That means the Kings are in it for the long haul in the short term.

	“	It's going to be hard for me. I'm going against stronger guys. I have to work harder. ... It's not my real position, so it's going to be different. That's a real challenge. But you know what? If I have to guard them, they have to guard me. ”
		— Turkoglu

No one can say for sure how long he will be out, and no one who saw how he came back from a similar injury last season can say for sure how he will do upon returning. That was often a struggle, and a more pressing concern since the rehab then was as the playoffs approached. This is November and there are alternatives for coach Rick Adelman, with a very versatile lineup at his disposal, and there are even breaks going their way: Seattle, the first opponent, played with Vin Baker and his lower back strain, and Denver, the second opponent, is without Antonio McDyess.

All of which is encouraging to Sacramento. Until Sunday, when Duncan and the Spurs visit Arco Arena, and that is followed by four games in five nights on the road, and then coming home to face the Raptors, who are not just talented but big and talented. Being the Kings, there is no reason for panic -- "They're basically an offensive machine," SuperSonics coach Nate McMillan said. "You have to get back in transition and make them play defense. If you end up playing their style of game, that can work against you." On the other hand, being Pollard, he will get hit with two fouls during the national anthem, and Turkoglu being a 220-pound backup swingman, he will just get hit, period, trying to step up in weight class.

Both will play, with Funderburke also an option, and both may even alternate as the starter, depending on the matchup du jour. Pollard is the practical choice, because rebounding was the top concern for the Kings even when Webber was healthy and Pollard will crash glass like a stuntman. In eight games in the opening lineup last season, seven of which came in that stretch in late-February and early-March when Webber had the ankle sprain, he averaged 14.1 points and 12.4 rebounds, confirming his standing as one of the top reserve big men in the game. On the season, he was at 6.5 points and 6.0 rebounds in 21.5 minutes.

If more people, especially outside Sacramento, don't realize Pollard's real impact, it's mostly his own fault. He has created a personality that overshadows his considerable contributions on the court, changing the cut of his facial hair and his hair hair (from samurai ponytail to bald as Barkley, and most in between) and playing the goof to the media. Have quip, will travel. The thing is, it's a schtick. He admits it.

In moments of introspection, he will call himself an introvert, just as his wife will call him Jekyll and Hyde and his best friend on the team last season, Jon Barry, says, "I guess what you see is not what you get," and Adelman, though understanding the need for players to protect their privacy, wishes more people knew the Pollard who can be sensitive and smart. Some opponents would be upgrading to have them as their starting center. No schtick.

The image is important here because it's also what he sees as part of the problem: Pollard gets so many fouls, he feels, because the referees have gathered the picture of a brutish fullback whose game is mostly putting his head down and knocking innocents around, and those fouls can limit his time off the bench as much as the play or health of Webber or Vlade Divac at a particular moment. And since Pollard is still the backup center, even when he starts at power forward, if he picks up two quick ones now, the Kings are actually down at two positions. So using him as a reserve, at either spot, has its advantages.

Turkoglu, meanwhile, would be stepping up in weight class. The Kings, and others who wanted to draft him coming out of Turkey in 2001, immediately recognized his versatility, so much versatility, in fact, that at the end of last season there was talk about getting him more minutes at point guard and at the start of this one there is actually minutes at power forward. Predrag Stojakovic could also move there from small forward, but Turkoglu allows for the additional dimension of playing inside to get a defensive rebound and then turning upcourt to push the fastbreak himself. Because that's just what the Kings needed, another dimension to their offense.

Turkoglu at power forward is strictly situational and not much of a permanent option, as temporary solutions go. When opponents go small, he can play there, just like when the SuperSonics played three guards a lot in the opener. When the Kings need to force turnovers or get quick baskets to catch up, he can play there. Now to see if he can survive there.

"It's going to be hard for me," he said. "I'm going against stronger guys. I have to work harder. ... It's not my real position, so it's going to be different. That's a real challenge. But you know what? If I have to guard them, they have to guard me."

Meaning the chance to turn the mismatch to his favor.

"I have to," Turkoglu said. "It'll be a good chance for me. I can get more chances to play."

Somewhere. Just like Pollard or Funderburke or whoever keeps the seat warm at power forward. Someone.

Anyone?

Scott Howard-Cooper covers the NBA for the Sacramento Bee and is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.