Kings will rule the West

Why did anybody bother? I mean, what was the point of putting together NBA previews for this season? Everybody knew the LA Lakers were going to run away and hide from the rest of the league, right?

Not so fast, huh Kobe?

This should have been easy. During the summer, the Lakers added future Hall-of-Famers Karl Malone and Gary Payton. So obviously, 71 wins and a shiny new championship trophy were sure-things in Tinseltown in 2003-04. But Kobe Bryant had to go and ... well, you know the rest. No sooner had the ink dried on Malone's and Payton's contracts than... whammo... Kobe throws a monkey wrench into the championship parade preparations.

Talk about missing a wide-open layup. The Lakers coulda been special. Jack Nicholson coulda been the fifth starter. Coulda, shoulda, woulda.

Scary stuff the way fate works. One minute you're talking about getting fitted for a ring, and the next minute, you're getting fitted with shackles. Poor, dumb Kobe. Stephen King couldn't have come up with a better storyline. They've still got three future Hall-of-Famers to work with, but the Lakers won't be winning the NBA title this season.

Besides having too many egos and not enough basketballs, Kobe likely will be in and out of the lineup the entire year. No amount of Zen Philosophy will work this season, Phil. I've heard a fella can miss a lot of work defending himself against rape charges. If the Lakers win 50 games, I'll be surprised.

So, you ask, "Who will win it all?"

The Sacramento Kings.

The Kings are solid and experienced. They've yet to topple their Goliath, the Lakers, but these Davids are due.

It won't be easy. It's never easy in the Western Conference. In fact, it's going to be a dogfight. Heck, even the Clippers have a shot ... at winning 30 games, that is.

Of course, some things will remain the same.

The Timberwolves will have a lot of bark during the regular season, but no bite in the playoffs. Sam Cassell was a nice addition, but they subtracted by adding Spree and Mike Olowokandi.

The "Trial" Blazers will make headlines inside the Courtroom instead of on the court. In fact, I hear Court TV is airing some of their games. Seriously, Zach Randolph is a future star. I just hope he steers clear of Ruben Patterson this season.

The Spurs will be boring.

The Mavericks will be scoring.

And the Kings will be roaring.

The one sure-fire thing in the Western Conference? And you can take this to the bank -- the Utah Jazz will stink. Get out the Glade, Jazz fans. No Stockton. No Malone. No wins.

Speaking of stinking. Followers of the following teams better go buy stock in Hoover vacuums, because they're gonna suck: Golden State Warriors, Memphis Grizzlies and Houston Rockets.

And these teams are just plain stuck in purgatory. Not good, not bad. Just a date on somebody's schedule: Seattle SuperSonics and Phoenix Suns.

Here's my predicted order of finish, with my predicted season record in parentheses.

Pacific Division

1. Sacramento Kings (59-23) 2. Los Angeles Lakers (53-29) 3. Portland Trail Blazers (47-35) 4. Phoenix Suns (41-41) 5. Seattle Sonics (35-47) 6. Golden State Warriors (34-48) 7. Los Angeles Clippers (29-53)

Midwest Divison Standings

1. Dallas Mavericks (55-27) 2. Minnesota Timberwolves (53-29) 3. San Antonio Spurs (51-31) 4. Denver Nuggets (37-45) 5. Houston Rockets (32-50) 6. Memphis Grizzlies (28-54) 7. Utah Jazz (24-58)

Maybe it's the Jack Daniels talking, but if you do the math, you'll notice that the Denver Nuggets will make the playoffs. That's a pretty heavy limb I'm climbing out on, but Carmelo Anthony and Andre Miller are the Nuggets' diamonds, and I like their chances.

Does anybody really care about the Eastern Conference? Well, I'm pulling for the Bucks (hey, I'm a Terry Porter fan).

C.S. Wilson is a regular contributor to eSports Media Group and fanstop.com. He can be reached at christopher.wilson@netzero.com.