THERE ARE LAKERS, KINGS ... AND THE REST.

Byline: Vincent Bonsignore Staff Writer

A few minutes after the Lakers beat Sacramento last year in an epic Game 7 Western Conference finals battle at Arco Arena, NBA super agent David Falk walked up to grieving Kings owners Joe and Gavin Maloof outside the Kings dressing room and shook his head.

Falk, who represents Kings stars Mike Bibby and Chris Webber, wanted to console the inconsolable Maloofs. Or at least try to.

``You know,'' Falk began. ``Many years ago I used to work for the Lakers, and every year we had championship-caliber teams, but every year we'd run into the Boston Celtics in the finals and get beat.''

The Maloofs just sort of looked at Falk as if to say: ``What the heck are you trying to say, that we're looking at another six or seven years of getting are hearts ripped out by the Lakers?''

Maybe Falk was trying to be nice. Maybe he was just trying to warn the Maloofs. Either way, the Kings are still 0-3 against the Lakers in the playoffs, losing to them three consecutive years, and the Lakers aren't going anywhere and neither are the Kings.

Thus, it's safe to assume the two bitter rivals are headed for another postseason confrontation again this year. Fact is, the Lakers and Kings aren't just the two best teams in the Western Conference, they're the two best teams in the NBA.

And they hate each other.

``Yes, it's a rivalry,'' Kings guard Bobby Jackson said. ``It's been a rivalry.''

Clearly the Kings closed the gap on the Lakers a year ago, pushing them to the brink of elimination before falling in Game 7 at home.

They say they're back for more this year, only more focused and more intent on finishing the job. The Lakers say bring it on.

The rest of the Western Conference watches with interest. After all, contenders such as San Antonio and Dallas must be thinking they can take advantage of the Kings' infatuation with the Lakers.

Until this year, the Kings were part of the pack chasing the Lakers. But even though they fell in the Western Conference Final, the Kings set themselves apart from the rest of the conference with their inspired performance.

That means they'll come into this year with a target on their back.

``It's a little different when you're being chased rather than doing the chasing,'' Lakers assistant coach Jim Cleamons said. ``It will be interesting to see how they handle it.''

Here is a look at the Western Conference:

THE CHAMPIONS

LAKERS

Aside from Shaquille O'Neal's right-foot problem - offseason surgery will shelve him for the first few weeks of the season - and some nagging injuries to a handful of players, the Lakers are in their best physical condition since Phil Jackson arrived four years ago.

It shows they're serious about setting themselves apart from the most recent NBA dynasties by winning their fourth consecutive NBA title, something that hasn't been done since the great Celtics teams in the 1960s.

If O'Neal's foot gets better, it won't take him long to start dominating again. He's in tremendous shape and not nearly as heavy as he finished the year last season.

Kobe Bryant bulked up 15 pounds - all muscle - and seems ready to take another giant step. He'll carry the load until the Big Daddy gets back. Derek Fisher is 100 percent for the first time in two years, Devean George has peace of mind after signing a new contract, Rick Fox lost 20 pounds, as did Brian Shaw, and Samaki Walker has a year under his belt in the triangle offense and figures to be more comfortable.

Newcomer Tracy Murray will stretch the defense with his long-range shooting and rookie Kareem Rush will get spot duty at guard.

If all goes well with O'Neal's foot, this Lakers team could be the best of them all. Besides, when things go wrong, they can just give the ball to Robert Horry and let him shoot it.

CONTDENDERS

KINGS

The biggest question concerning the Kings was always who wanted to take the big shot when it counted? Mike Bibby answered emphatically with his brilliant performance during the Western Conference Final. But the Kings still lost.

Point being, if they really want to overtake the Lakers, Chris Webber must be more willing to take games over at crunch time. Webber, who faces a potential perjury trial in February, says his ankle is finally 100 percent and as a result he can take the ball to the basket more rather than stand outside in a point-forward role. Good, because the Kings need him to be more aggressive.

The rest of the team is back, with Bobby Jackson taking over at point until Bibby returns from a stress fracture in his foot in December. Pedro Stojakovic, Hedo Turkoglu and Vlade Divac provide their usual versatility and scoring and Doug Christie, provided he is over his fright of playing Game 7 of the Western Conference final, has a lot to prove. Newcomer Keon Clark is a bruiser and another body to lay on O'Neal along with Scot Pollard, but neither is any sort of match-up problem for the most dominant player in the NBA.

The Kings will be there, but their season ends again in the conference final.

SPURS

San Antonio lost to the Lakers in the semifinals in five games, but they were five brutally close games that could have gone either way. And don't think for a moment the Lakers don't remember Tim Duncan doing whatever he wanted to, Tony Parker blowing past anyone trying to guard him and Bruce Bowen making life extremely difficult for Kobe Bryant with his rugged defense.

The Spurs will be better because Parker is a year older. Unfortunately, they're in a conference with the Lakers and Kings and they just don't have the firepower to win four games against either.

MAVERICKS

After losing to the Kings in the semifinals, Dallas vowed to play better defense this year rather than try to outscore everyone with its high- powered attack.

When Nick Van Exel and Dirk Nowitzki take a defensive stance determined to shut people down instead of thinking about their next shot, we'll believe it.

The Mavericks tried hard to land Seattle free agent Rashard Lewis, but things didn't work out. Too bad, they could have used a no-nonsense guy who plays both ends of the court.

Michael Finley and Steve Nash comprise one of the most exciting backcourts in the league, but like the Mavericks themselves, they're entertaining to watch but lack the substance to grind out a championship.

PLAYOFF TEAMS

TRAIL BLAZERS

You have to love the starting five of Rasheed Wallace, Scottie Pippen, Arvydas Sabonis (back after a year in retirement), Bonzi Wells and Damon Stoudamire. That's a lot of talent.

But you also have to hate Wallace's emotional outbursts, which take him out of his game; Pippen and his penchant for vanishing when it counts, and Stoudamire's gunner's mentality at point guard.

Add the love to the hate and you get a team capable of beating anyone, including itself.

JAZZ

Karl Malone and John Stockton are back for one more run at it, but the days of seriously thinking about winning a championship are long gone. The Jazz is between the ending of one era and the beginning of a full-scale rebuilding project.

The result: Old warriors Malone and Stockton have enough left to get the Jazz to the playoffs, but adequate-at-best players Jarron Collins, DeShawn Stevenson and Greg Ostertag can't help get them any further.

Calbert Cheaney, Matt Harpring and Curtis Borchardt are nice additions but not difference makers.

In the end, the Jazz is a good team and nothing more.

TIMBERWOLVES

The problem is Kevin Garnett and Wally Szczerbiak - the Wolves' two best players - don't like one another and even worse, they don't compliment one another. Minnesota needs a talented bruiser to protect Garnett on both ends of the court and a point guard who can get him the ball.

What they don't need is a one-dimensional, slow-footed, medium-sized gunner like Szczerbiak who fancies himself a poor-man's Larry Bird when he's really a poor-man's Tom Chambers.

Minnesota also needs Joe Smith to improve on his 10.7 points and 6.3 rebounds.

Garnett gets them to the playoffs. But that's it.

CLIPPERS

Mark it down, the Clippers get to the playoffs. And don't be surprised if they win a series, too.

Andre Miller is the point guard they desperately needed to guide a young, talented team to the postseason and Elton Brand has the guts and talent to make sure they don't stumble and fall along the way.

Lamar Odom will return at some point, and if he's right in the head, watch out. Michael Olowokandi, like Brand and Odom, is playing for a fat contract and the guess is that the three of them will sit down at one point and decide that they maximize each other's chances of a big payday - either with the Clippers or someone else - by sticking together rather than playing as individuals.

Quentin Richardson, Eric Piatkowski and Corey Maggette are fine supporting players, and newcomers Melvin Ely, Chris Wilcox and Marko Jaric will fight for minutes.

WILD CARDS

SONICS

Gary Payton didn't get his contract extension, and that could mean trouble in Seattle, where the Sonics are hoping their veteran All-Star can pull Rashard Lewis, Desmond Mason and Vladimir Radmanovic up the NBA ladder rather than turn them off to the whole experience with his surly mood.

Good luck.

Lewis got a big contract but with it comes bigger expectations.

ROCKETS

Yao Ming and Stevie Francis will eventually form one of the top two-man attacks since Malone and Stockton - if not in style, then in production.

But it's going to take a while.

Ming needs to get bigger and stronger, but if you don't think this guy can play, you don't know the difference between Lo Mein and Chow Mein. Even if he's the next coming of Rik Smits, that's not too bad. Smits played in an era of Hakeem Olajuwon, Pat Ewing and Shaquille O'Neal and held his own.

Name another top center besides O'Neal now?

SUNS

Poor Stephon Marbury keeps leaving good situations for bad ones, only he doesn't realize this is a situation of addition by subtraction and subtraction by addition.

Marbury leaves a team (Nets), the team gets better. Marbury joins a team (Suns), the team gets worse. Same thing happened when Marbury bolted Minnesota for New Jersey.

See a pattern forming?

Marbury says he's tired of the loser tag and vows to change. Haven't we heard that before? We'll give him the benefit of the doubt and say he will, and if so, the Suns become a threat with young talents Shawn Marion, Joe Johnson and Amare Stoudemire running alongside him.

BUILDING FOR ... SOMETHING

WARRIORS

You can't argue the Warriors are laying down a foundation. Jason Richardson, Antawn Jamison, Gilbert Arenas, Mike Dunleavy and Troy Murphy are all good players. But it will take time before it all comes together under first-year coach Eric Musselman.

GRIZZLIES 

This is a team on the rise, and not just because Jerry West is in charge - although that's a big reason.

Rookie Drew Gooden (West's first pick) and second-year stars-in-the- making Pau Gasol (Rookie of the Year last season) and Shane Battier, who moves over to his more natural small-forward position with the addition of Gooden, are three cornerstones to build around. And there is salary-cap space looming in the future for West to take advantage of.

In two years Memphis will be in the playoffs.

NUGGETS 

The Nuggets free up salary-cap space next year when Juwan Howard is finally off the books. But it's going to be a while before new G.M. Kiki Vandeweghe can get things under control on the player front.

Right now, Nikoloz Tskitishvili and Nene Hilario are just two hard-to- pronounce names, but in a few years they'll be established stars.

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Photo:

It would appear that only the Sacramento Kings stand between the Lakers and another NBA title. Here, the Lakers mob Robert Horry after his game-winning shot in last year's conference finals.

Edna T. Simpson/Staff Photographer