Really, Kings Shouldn’t Be This Soft of a Touch

If you believe everything you hear down here, this series is over.

The Kings are done, finished.

They have no answer for Shaq, no cure for Kobe, no counter for Rick Fox. They stand around and isolate on offense--very much like the majority of deadly dull NBA clubs--and when forcing the pace, run a frenetic, inefficient fastbreak. They also fail to rotate, rebound in crowds, hustle for loose balls, play with smarts or play the right people.

So, what did you expect? A competitive series?

Based on the first two games of this best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal against the Lakers, the Kings indeed are playing down to their reputation, performing like a collection of likable, fun-loving scrubs who lack the mentality to give the defending champions much of a scrimmage. They talk tough and play soft. Sometimes they don’t even talk tough.

But come on. The Kings are better than that.

Any team that wins 55 games, finishes third in the conference and establishes Sacramento franchise records for home and road wins is talented enough to turn this one-sided encounter into a prime-time playoff. To at least make things interesting.

Getting physical would be a good start.

Pursue long rebounds, even grab an offensive board once in a while. And someone, please: Wake up Vlade Divac.

Only a week ago, the veteran center was driving around Phoenix on cruise control, torching the Suns with his baseline spin moves, snatching rebounds, running the floor, finding cutters with crafty, one-bounce passes and occasionally even blocking shots. But against the much larger, stronger O’Neal, Divac has floated outside for a few off-target jumpers, and instead of packing the lane defensively, assisted by opportunistic, aggressive double-teams, he has packed it in.

With the series shifting to the cozy confines of Arco tonight, the adrenaline will be pumping, the place will be rocking and the Kings presumably will be rebounding and running. Surely they need to do more of that, and could benefit from more of this:

More minutes for Hedo Turkoglu.

More points and rebounds from Stojakovic.

More attacking-the-basket creativity from Jason Williams.

More leadership and low-post play from Webber.

More of everything from Divac.

More of the same production from Bobby Jackson and a few more baskets by Doug Christie.

The Kings can do this.

Really, they can.