SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Phil Jackson saw no reason to rattle the Kings' collective cage after the Lakers' resounding Game 1 victory in the Western Conference finals. The pregame rattling, followed by an in-game throttling, proved to be quite sufficient.

"I thought there was a freedom to our game and that it looked like there was a little more pressure on them," said Jackson, the Lakers' coach.

Then again, Phil couldn't have said anything that would have belittled the Kings more than having reserves Lindsey Hunter, Samaki Walker and Devean George start the fourth quarter. The last time all three were on the floor together was ...

"All three of us? I want to say -- I can't remember," said George, whose five fouls meant he was victimized as much as anyone by an officiating effort that probably won't be on a how-to instructional video anytime soon. "But with Phil, you have to be ready."

Indeed. Which is why the ramifications of the 106-99 loss for the Kings are far deeper than the simple loss of the homecourt advantage they gave so much importance entering the series. Kings coach Rick Adelman looked like someone digging through the couch for loose change by going to little-used rookie Gerald Wallace in the second quarter, giving Bobby Jackson an ill-advised shot at guarding Kobe Bryant and later having 6-foot-1 Mike Bibby matched up with 6-7 Rick Fox.

The Lakers, meanwhile, won convincingly with their basic game plan, meaning they have several wrinkles to throw at the Kings should they muster a better challenge in Game 2. The defending champions didn't even attempt to go big in the backcourt, or put Kobe on Bibby, or fully utilize Shaq vs. Scot Pollard and Vlade Divac.

"When you can win a game without showing your full hand, you're in good shape," Rick Fox said. "When Phil keeps calling for the same plays we've had in since the beginning of the year, I thought, 'Oh, I guess we don't need our new stuff.' As for them, I thought we saw everything they have."

The Game 1 game plan? Attack Chris Webber at both ends of the floor. Or did you think Robert Horry just suddenly woke up and decided to be aggressive? As they say in the rental-car commercial, not exactly.

The Lakers know CWebb is a mediocre one-on-one defender, and that he creates havoc by hanging around the lane. He didn't have that luxury with Horry, who matched him point for point in the first quarter with eight, and buried a couple of 3-pointers.

CWebb finished with impressive numbers -- 28 points, 14 rebounds, six assists -- which is why boxscores can't be trusted. Horry's 18 points, eight rebounds and three assists were more than enough to make Webber's contribution inconsequential.

The second part of the plan was to let Horry handle CWebb alone on defense. CWebb's best attribute is his passing, but that's a little more difficult when you're not being double-teamed and thereby have a teammate open.

Horry, knowing he has at least three more games against CWebb, took the high road: "They stuck with their game plan and we were lucky we stuck with ours."

Fox was less diplomatic.

"We wanted Webb to have to make plays," he said. "He actually stayed in the post longer than we thought and then floated out like he does. He made some jump shots, but he missed some, too."

To the Kings' credit, they never rolled over and let this game become a blowout. Then again, the Lakers didn't go hunting for one.

The Kings simply can't execute or make adjustments on the same level as the Lakers; that's not a crime, since no one in the league can. There's a dividend to being the only team to win 15 postseason games each of the last two years -- the Lakers' grasp of what it takes is that much sharper, the routine of doing it that much more sharply honed.

There's nothing better than a closely fought series, which is why it's so hard to give up on the idea that the Kings won't offer one. They have a nice collection of talent, including Hedo Turkoglu, who is not likely to go scoreless for 29 minutes again.

But the Lakers clearly feel they have the upper hand now -- so much so that Phil doesn't even feel the need to point it out.

Ric Bucher covers the NBA for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail him at ric.bucher@espnmag.com.