By Gordon Simpson

Of all the things in the world that the Sacramento Kings didn't want to happen! Many have thought this year was going to see the Kings march to their first NBA Championship and that the only thing that could possibly spoil it was Chris Webber going down injured. In a heartbreaking moment for anyone associated with the Kings organization, Webber was found to have a torn lateral meniscus, which he sustained after attempting to catch a lob pass in Thursday's Game 2 loss to the Dallas Mavericks. Webber, a five-time All-Star and leader of the Kings in scoring, rebounding and assists, is expected to miss the rest of the playoffs. The implications of this injury are enormous in the race to be crowned NBA Champions.

The Dallas Mavericks must suddenly have a huge sense of belief within their team, as not only did they maul the Kings in Game 2, but Dirk Nowitzki could now find himself with a lot more freedom to work his magic with Webber missing from the court. The Mavericks may never have a better chance than this to win a championship and they will be rubbing their hands in anticipation at the chance to see what the Kings can do without Webber. If Dallas is capable of winning 60 regular season games in the Western Conference then a hurting Kings team may struggle to escape through.

However, the two teams whose interest will really have peaked from this injury are the San Antonio Spurs and the 3-time defending champions Los Angeles Lakers, who have each been putting on basketball clinics on their home courts in the first three games of their series. Neither team is likely to be particularly worried about Dallas, whose lack of any real inside presence will give themselves countless problems against either the Spurs or Lakers. This year, the large majority of those involved with basketball, in any capacity, have been expecting the Kings to be able to clear either the Spurs or the Lakers in the playoffs. Unfortunately for Sacramento, without Chris Webber on the floor, the Spurs and Lakers would have endless fun scoring points in the paint and whichever progresses to the Western Conference Finals will be going in knowing they have a huge advantage, over whichever team they play. With nobody from the Eastern Conference posing a truly serious threat, the Spurs and Lakers might well be thinking that the NBA Finals are going on right now.

Perhaps, however, this is writing the Kings off much too early and easily. They are without doubt the deepest team in the league and are certainly not a one-man ball club. With the news that Bobby Jackson is cleared to play, despite fracturing his cheekbone, the Kings will not lose belief in their ability to win, especially when being guided by their outstanding coach, Rick Adelman. However, although they may be the deepest, and arguably best, team in the league, losing such an integral part of your ball club will make adjusting in such a short time extremely difficult, to say the least.

If the Kings can pull off the huge feat of winning the Championship without Webber then they can undoubtedly call themselves the best team in the NBA, but you just can't help feeling that the Spurs-Lakers series has taken on an even greater importance.


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