Another game, another national television appearance. Ho hum. Who are these guys, anyway, the Lakers?

	Scot Pollard doesn't normally start, but after one game it's obvious he can.

Well, yeah. The Lakers are on national TV on Thursday. That does not constitute news, however, given that the NBA's television confederates all like to be known as the official network of the Los Angeles Lakers. Shaq and the boys are booked for 26 appearances on national TV, the maximum allowed (although 56 shy of what the networks would want.)

No, the team the nation really wants to see, on or off the screen, is your Sacramento Kings. America's team hosts the Lakers Thursday in their second national cable appearance in three days. Two years ago, during the lockout season, the Kings weren't even deemed acceptable for a single national appearance; execs scrambled to get them on late in the season when they discovered that the Kings are fun to watch.

Sacramento chic is now, indisputably, in full flower. The Kings have 20 appearances booked on national TV after 24 last season. Prior to the 1999-2000 season, the Kings had a grand total of 14 national TV appearances in 14 years.

The Kings are network darlings as well as a home team's dream date. Last season, the top three road draws were the Lakers (no surprise), the Knicks (no surprise) and the Kings (big surprise). They are No. 3 again this year, trailing only the Carterites from Toronto and the Lakers.

And you know what? They're worth it. They're worth your time, attention and -- dare we say it -- your affection? What's not to like about them? They're entertaining, they SCORE POINTS, for goodness sakes. But, we submit, there are other legitimate reasons to root hard for that ratings-busting Sacramento-Cleveland final next June.

It goes beyond Jason Williams' no-look passes and Chris Webber's dominating inside presence. It goes beyond Scot Pollard's eccentric attire -- would you let him date your daughter? It goes beyond the fact that David Falk doesn't represent anyone on the team (although fellow villain Arn Tellem has a couple.)

		Defense? Their preferred version of that part of the game, until recently, consisted of varying ways to remove the basketball from the net.

It goes beyond the presence of two Princetonians on the basketball masthead in the estimable Pete Carill and Geoff Petrie. It goes beyond the presence of multi-decorated Olympian Eric Heiden as one of the team's doctors. Hey, we even like them because they got Mark Cuban so discombobulated that the Mavericks' plutocrat had to shell out some pocket change ($5,000) for whining about the officials after his team got vaporized by the Kings.

"I never could have guessed they'd become as big as they are," said former King Randy Brown, who broke in with Sacramento in 1991. "I never thought you'd see the Kings on TV 20 times. That's amazing to me."

	Stojakovic

	Divac

The Kings have broken fast from the gate despite a tough schedule (the first four on the road), the early absence of Williams for five games and the ongoing concern over Webber's future. The Kings' best player is a free agent next summer and will be romanced heavily. In fact, he's already getting vibes. All he's saying is he wants to play for a team with a chance to win. He's on one right now.

This game against the defending world champions has the potential for good basketball and good theater. That's because the Kings have the better record, the home court, and, if Webber (ankle sprain) can play, the advantage. That's because the Kings are playing as well as anyone in the league right now, having won five straight after Tuesday's Webber-less dispatching of Orlando.

And it's also because the Kings are doing it at both ends of the floor, a new concept to most of them. Defense? Their preferred version of that part of the game, until recently, consisted of varying ways to remove the basketball from the net.

No longer. Even in this day and age of incorrigible clangers, the field goal defense statistic still seems relevant. Only a handful of teams have a better one than the Kings. Over the first nine games, not one team has shot 50 percent against the Kings. Two teams have managed to score 100 points against Sacramento, but both needed overtime to do it. In terms of points allowed, the Kings have risen from 27th to 10th. They force 20 turnovers a game.

One could make a case that had last year's Kings played this year's defense, we might have not seen Shaq & Co. celebrating at the Staples Center. Sacramento took the Lakers to five games in the first round of the playoffs last spring. They did the same thing to Utah the year before. But defense, or lack thereof, prevented them from going further. As entertaining as they undeniably are, the Kings now understand that you have to stop people, not outscore them, if you want to keep playing in the spring.

The other encouraging early sign: the apparent maturation of Williams. He was one of those players who could keep both teams in the game while filling up every slot in the box score. There were all kinds of concerns about him as he sat out the first five games for failing to comply with the league's anti-drug program. He had a disappointing sophomore season after a breakthrough rookie year. But the Kings went 3-2 in his absence (the first four were on the road) and are unbeaten since he returned. In his first four games, Williams doubled his assist-to-turnover ratio to almost 4 a game.

Throw in the best passing power combination in the league (Vlade Divac and Webber), the emergence of Predrag Stojakovic as a cold-blooded scorer and the addition of Doug Christie and the Kings seem to be an improved team. They have to be to stay in the race in the Western Conference.

Right now, they're more than just hanging around. A win over the Lakers would be another sign, however early, that they plan to have a say this spring over how it all comes out. Maybe even a strong enough statement to convince Webber to stick around. Better get used to those overhead blimp shots of the California state capitol. They're going to be a staple for a while. The Kings can only hope no one gets tired of the view.

Peter May, who covers the NBA for the Boston Globe, is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.