It's beginning to sound a little familiar, isn't it? Sacramento is looking at the same early-round playoff lineup it saw a year ago: Utah in the first round, Dallas in the second, assuming the Mavericks finish No. 3.

That's one tremendously fine break. It means, in a blood-on-the-moon competitive conference, the Kings get a team they know they can handle in the opening round, albeit a tough one. (The Jazz won't go down without a fight, and I mean that in the most literal sense.)