THE BOX OUT PICK AND POPS 1. Not lost in the rise of the Wizards has been the rebirth of Larry Hughes, who averaged 18.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.6 assists during the team's five-game win streak. Welcome back, Larry. 2. The most exciting player in the league right now? Warriors super sub Earl Boykins. When you're 5-foot-5 and drive to the hoop like he does, every game seems like an episode of "Fear Factor." QUOTE OF THE DAY “The things I could've done I couldn't do. It's not legal. Swing a baseball bat, golf club ...” —Byron Scott on what he could've done to stop the Kings from steamrolling his Nets on Thursday. NUMBER OF THE DAY 34 The margin of victory in last season's Kings-Nets meeting in the Meadowlands -- in favor of New Jersey. TRASH TALK You had your say. So here are the best comments: Look at the standings. The Mavs are better. Fred Miller, Dallas, Texas The Kings are, of course, the best team in the NBA. Comparing the Mavericks to the Kings is like comparing MJ to Joe Lago. Saul Flores, Chattanooga, Tenn. By all means keep overselling the Kings and underselling the Mavericks. People refuse to believe their defense is for real, and they own the one real advantage over Sacramento that they need: Their stars are clutch players while the Kings (with all deference to Mike Bibby) are not. If it comes down to Nowitzki and Webber needing to take the last shot, please come try to take my money (what I have left). Mark Gerner, Dallas, Texas I watched all games and clearly Sacramento is deeper and better then Dallas. Just comare their frontcourt players alone. Who would you rather have? Dirk, Bradley, Raef, Najera and Jones? Or Peja, Divac, Webber, Keon, Pollard and Hedo? There is no comparison. Sac can play up tempo or slow it down. Patrick Donaldson, Columbus, Ohio I just want everyone to stop downplaying the play of Chris Webber. Just because he doesn't hog the ball like Shaq and Kobe, it doesn't mean that he can't lead his team or score his points. The truth is, all Webber cares about is winning and if he has to give out assists or just get rebounds, he will. James Dunn, Athens, Ohio It's about time the Kings finally got their recognition. They may not have the best record right now, but they are the best team in the NBA. Matt Simeone, San Diego, Calif. Remember, this is only one game of an 82-game schedule. Don't get too excited in January -- it is March and April that matter! Jared Perrine, Tucson, Ariz. Why are you even having this argument about the best in the West? Until they are unseated, the answer is simple: LAKERS ARE STILL KINGS! Jamie Pierce, Thornton, Colo.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The game was billed as an NBA Finals preview, but Thursday's visit by the Sacramento Kings provided nothing new for New Jersey Nets fans. They witnessed plenty of awful shooting, silly turnovers and terrible defense by the home team last June when the Lakers left treadmarks on the Eastern Conference champs while cruising to a four-game sweep.

So what was the exact purpose of the Kings' 118-82 layup drill over the Nets, other than to raise the measuring stick of all Larry O'Brien trophy contenders to Sergei Bubka pole-vaulting heights? To give us a glimpse of what the Western Conference finals might look like, of course.

Holding Sacramento's 36-point victory side by side with Dallas' eight-point win over New Jersey in November indicates that the road to the Finals in the West will be treacherous whether or not the Lakers get their act together.

"That's going to be a tough series between those two if they match up," Nets guard Lucious Harris said. "They're similar. They're pretty close. With the Mavericks, you pick your poison, and with Sacramento, you pick your poison."

The Kings play their next statement game Wednesday when they play host to the Mavericks in a meeting of the West's top two teams (gratuitious plug alert: the game will be on ESPN at 9 p.m. ET). Sacramento is still trying to make up ground on Dallas and its 14-0 start, but Nets coach Byron Scott already has an opinion on who's better.

"They are a very, very good basketball team," Scott said of the Kings. "They are the best team we've played all year."

Harris concurred. "They're the best team -- and hottest team -- we've played," he said.

That's saying something, considering the Mavericks carried a 9-0 record into Continental Airlines Arena back on Nov. 16. Dallas didn't secure its 96-88 victory until late in the fourth quarter when Shawn Bradley, of all people, hit a pair of jumpers to spark a game-ending 13-5 run.

The Mavs didn't show off their marksmanship as well as the Kings, shooting only 43.2 percent. Then again, Dallas actually faced some defensive resistance from the Nets, who may as well have been feeding balls to the Kings with the way they left Peja Stojakovic (24 points, 4-of-6 on 3s) and Doug Christie open.

"I think they (the Kings) play a little bit better defense than the Mavericks," said Richard Jefferson, alluding to the Nets' 38.6 percent shooting against Sacramento and their 40.0 mark against Dallas. "They have some good steal guys. But they're very, very similar."

But who's the better team? Don't ask the Nets. You're better off simulating Mavs-Kings on your PlayStation 2.

"I don't know if the Kings are tougher than the Mavericks," Jason Collins said. "I think they're both good teams. They both have a lot of talent. They're both very deep."

"I don't know. It's kind of tough to say," Jefferson said. "We beat the Celtics by (36) earlier in the season, but I'm not going to say they're not better than Denver because we only beat Denver by (20). It's tough to compare.

"When the Kings get Bobby (Jackson) back, they're going to be a different team. When we get Dikembe (Mutombo) back and get Kerry (Kittles) rolling, we're going to be a different team. But they're definitely one of the better teams in the NBA right now."

The Kings stop in Minnesota (tonight) and play the Grizzlies at home before welcoming the Mavericks into Arco. You'd think these guys would be bursting with the anticipation of finally getting a shot at the team with the NBA's best record.

"That game is next week, right?" asked Vlade Divac.

Uh, yes it is, Vlade.

Joe Lago, the NBA editor for ESPN.com, writes the Morning Shootaround every Wednesday and Friday.