The Sacramento Kings are not taking the Los Angeles Lakers' shots at them as compliments. They should. At least the ones coming from coach Phil Jackson.

"They'll be folders if they don't get it done this year, if they don't build on that experience, " Jackson says, unable to suppress the twinkle in his eye.

	Phil Jackson is eager to see if the Kings can handle the heat of being a contender.

As always, there is certain truth in the Zenmaster's pronouncements -- this is indeed the year for the Kings to grab what they believe was taken from them in the fourth quarter of Game 6 in the Western Conference finals. No need to replay the details of that 106-102 loss since even Ralph Nader apparently was aware of them.

As always, there's also a purpose behind Phil's pronouncement. The Kings, by virtue of missing 14 of 30 free throws in Game 7 on their home floor, wilted under pressure. Outside of Mike Bibby, too many of their key players have a reputation for not wanting the ball or not knowing what to do with it at crunch time. Phil is wasting no time making sure no one, least of all the Kings, forgets that. The angle behind suggesting this year's title is theirs to lose is that now every last-second shot, every desultory performance and every upset to an inferior team will be viewed through that prism.

"It's a whole new experience being the team that's supposed to win," Kobe Bryant said. "They're about to find that out."

This is the Lakers' way, collectively, of squeezing Sacramento's rawest nerve. The Kings returned the favor by signing yet another capable power forward in Keon Clark. Those suggesting Clark isn't an answer for Shaq don't get it -- there is no answer for Shaq (and save the e-mails about how that's because the refs favor him; no one, but no one, suffers more uncalled fouls than the Daddy).

Clark gives the Kings even greater depth at the Lakers' softest spot, power forward. Robert Horry did an admirable job last season but he's a small forward getting by on guile at the 4 spot, and Samaki Walker, based on what I saw in the preseason, is no less a liability than he was last season. Horry also is 32 with nearly two seasons' worth of playoff games added to the wear and tear of 10 regular seasons.

The Lakers hoped the late Bison Dele or Stanislav Medvedenko could offer a solution, but Dele is gone and Medvedenko apparently doesn't grasp that rebounds, not points, are his ticket to a spot in the regular rotation.

"Slava is a scorer and what we're looking for is that he can be a rebounder, too," Jackson said. "So we'll start Rob and see how he goes."

	“	You've got to have confidence in what you're doing, so I can respect that from (the Kings). But they're trying to pump themselves up. If they truly believed it, they wouldn't say it. ”
		— Kobe Bryant

Although sportstalk fans in Sacramento have blamed Chris Webber, Doug Christie, Peja Stojakovic and even Hedo Turkoglu for not coming through, Phil apparently believes Vlade Divac is the weakest link when their playoff chain is pulled. "Vlade's the key to their team," Jackson says. "It depends on whether or not he can hold the fort." Phil, for what it's worth, isn't the only one who feels that way. Those who played with Divac during his Lakers' days have expressed the same opinion.

Divac and the rest of the Kings have talked their share of smack, too, of course. Webber suggested the Lakers' 2002 title deserved an asterisk, to which Shaquille O'Neal replied, "Before you put an asterisk on any of my championships, as a superstar you need to show up in an important game first." Referring to the charges of perjury facing Webber and his personal preparation to be a police officer, Shaq added, "Officer O'Neal says in the state of California, if you lie in the courtroom, that's a 118."

Bryant doesn't mind that the Kings are jawing, although their premise that they were actually the better team last season "makes me foam at the mouth," he says. "You've got to have confidence in what you're doing, so I can respect that from them. But they're trying to pump themselves up. If they truly believed it, they wouldn't say it. That's something that doesn't need to be said."

He's right, but the point applies to Jackson's observations as well. The Lakers are a year older and no better and Shaq is a much bigger key for the Lakers than Vlade is for the Kings. What he'll be this season and for how long is still unknown.

And to think these two teams won't face each other until Dec. 25. Christmas can't get here fast enough.

Ric Bucher covers the NBA for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail him at ric.bucher@espnmag.com.