Commissioner Stern finally has a legitimate rivalry to sell, the only problem being that it gets played out one round before the Finals start.

Exactly a year removed from the letdown of Lakers vs. Spurs, billed as a series for the ages and finished in four games, Lakers vs. Kings outstripped every expectation. It also raised a national furor over the Game 6 officiating, and far too much coverage of cowbells and tainted cheeseburgers, but that all fed nicely into the sort of Game 7 drama that visits us all too rarely.

None of the above will soothe Sacramento any, for the Kings and their fiercely loyal subjects already realize what they squandered Sunday night. Shaquille O'Neal wasn't fully Shaquille O'Neal until Game 6, and Kobe Bryant was likewise on and off, and even the real-deal O'Neal and Bryant couldn't have won Game 7 unless the Kings helped hand it to them.