I'll be honest - the Lakers bore me. I'm not denying their skill, talent, or style, but they spend 90% of their time on court in cruise control. The Bulls of the '90s, they aren't. Man-for-man, talent-wise, they may matchup. But they don't swagger like the Phil Jackson Bulls did. They could, but they don't have the heart or ruthless instinct.

So they cruise through the regular season to an inevitable playoff berth, as basketball spends months eliminating virtually no one, throwing in the odd blinding game here and there. Then they turn up the gas a notch and, presto, it's another Hollywood title and the rioting can begin.

This year, at least so far, there seems hope - at least a hope that we could finally see the Lakers do a gut check, as the brave Sacramento Kings have them tied up at two each going into tonight's game in the hurly-burly of Sacramento's Arco Center. In the four games so far in the series, the Kings have rattled the cages of the cosseted Lakers, by scrapping, fair and foul, for everything that's going and trying to knock the aristocrats off their game. And it's working.

It didn't start too well for the Kings, falling behind early in Game 1 to a rampant Los Angeles team determined to take the crowd, and a hyped-up opposition, out of the game early. 106-99 didn't do the Lakers justice - it was a debacle.

The Lakers hadn't trailed a playoff series for two years, outside of Game 1 to the Sixers in last year's finals, and, for all purposes, the series looked to be going the way of the 2001 Lakers/Spurs much-hyped encounter - a sweep. But the Kings rebounded from adversity and looked like a team who'd won 61 regular season games, sneaking Game 2 and rattling Phil Jackson's cage in the process, to such an extent that the Lakers went completely missing in Game 3, a 103-90 blowout.

The Lakers whining about biased officials is like O.J. complaining about the jury system being unfair. No team in the NBA gets as many calls as the glamour boys of LA. The post-Game 2 bitching was a crass attempt by Jackson, Kobe, Shaq, et al to intimidate the guys in stripes before Game 3. Thankfully, it failed.

Not that Rick Adelman is immune to a spot of suitably-timed whining, as the post Game 1 quotes show. "Let the players decide the game" is the unwritten rule in postseason play - in all sports. By in large, that happens, though, and you have to wonder if the network men would want to see the NBA's flagship franchise missing in the finals.

L.A. answered the call in Game 4, scrapping out a 100-99 victory after trailing by 24. A last second three-pointer from Robert Horry may have broken King spirits. Horry owned the fourth quarter, scoring 11 points in the dramatic recovery that prevented the unthinkable - the Lakers losing three in a row.

But the Kings can take heart from Game 4, despite the loss. They completely blew the Lakers away in the first quarter, rattling up 40 points with their high-tempo offense. They'll need a reprise of that tonight, only they'll need it to last longer. Mike Bibby, who scored 18 points in the first half on Sunday night, was held to just 3 in the second, courtesy of some great Kobe defense. C-Webb only managed a dismal 4 fourth quarter points.

"One person's not going to beat the Lakers," Webber said. Therein lies the difference between these teams. The Lakers have the capability to win against the Kings courtesy of a one-man show, be it Shaq or Kobe. The Kings can only triumph through a team effort. And that's more of an ask, especially over a seven-game series. Sometimes you need to notch up a cheap win riding just one guy.

This has been an epic series and it's finally awoken the lethargic Lakers. "Sacramento's a great team," said Kobe. "We have to answer their challenge and it's going to be fun."

He's right - they are, and it is. Kings win tonight, but Lakers win in seven, though I hope I'm wrong - as usual.

Have something to say? Visit the message boards and discuss this article. Comments? Agree? Disagree? Send in your feedback about this article.