This Mike Bibby toy will haunt your dreams.

21 wins? Sacramento Kings, you are better than that. Real estate in that low-20s neighborhood is usually reserved for franchises in a downward spiral (Indiana, Washington, Detroit), while the Kings’ future is bright it seems like the team is heading back towards their “Greatest Show on Court” days.

Well, just not yet.

Sacramento coach Paul Westphal has a bonafide superstar in Tyreke Evans, a solid presence in the paint with Jason Thompson, an international star in the making with Omri Casspi, and he fell asleep one night with Sergio Rodriguez on the roster and woke up the next morning with Carl Landry in his place. Excuse me if I am jealous of the 13th best team in the Western Conference, but what the Kings are doing is damn impressive. But since the Maloof brothers don’t have a time machine (if they did, they’d just go into the future to buy hair gel and new scents of Axe body spray), this Kings team will have to wait their turn.

Although the future never quiet works out the way you intend it to, just the thought of a Western Conference dominated by Portland, Sacramento, and Oklahoma City—instead of Los Angeles, Phoenix, and San Antonio—makes me a very happy.

As for Portland, forget Denver. It was a tough loss, but the games Portland really needs are the pair against the Kings (they play twice this week), the Warriors on Thursday, and Toronto on Sunday. If the Blazers finish this week with four victories, no one will remember what happened in Denver.

Well, except Andre Miller. Dude is going to be talking about his dunk until the end of time.

Tip-off: 7 pm
TV: Comcast
Las Vegas Line: Portland -8
TrueHoop Network Blog & Blue Öyster Cult fansite: Cowbell Kingdom