Tom McEachin writes about how the players (and fans) want to try and avoid the NBA's best team in the first round.

There's certainly no one the Jazz would rather avoid than the Kings.

"If you would look at the first three games we played them," Jazz forward Donyell Marshall said, "I think we would enjoy skipping Sacramento a lot."

The best chance then for the Jazz would be to move up higher in the standings -- they're only a half-game behind seventh-place Seattle -- which makes tonight"s final regular season meeting between the Jazz and Kings at the Delta Center doubly important.