The Lakers and Kings meet for the fourth and final time tonight with L.A. leading the season series against their in-state rivals two games to one. Although the Lakers are tied with New Orleans in the loss column 
with 25, they can secure the number one seed in the Western Conference with a win tonight since they own the tiebreaker over the Hornets.
At 38-43, the Kings have spent equal time this season looking lottery bound and like legitimate playoff contenders. Plagued by injuries all season long, Head Coach Reggie Theus has done an exceptional job keeping his Kings on track despite not playing with a stable lineup for much of the year. Ron Artest–averaging almost 20 points this season against the purple and gold–is listed as questionable for tonight’s game. Meanwhile, leading scorer Kevin Martin is listed as questionable due to a strained right knee.
The Kings have played well since the Lakers routed them 114-92 at Arco Arena nine days ago. Last night, Sacramento nearly followed the Lakers lead by beating the defending champion Spurs but faltered late in an eventual 101-98 loss. However, the Kings have played the role of spoiler in the Western Conference more than once in the past few weeks, coming up with surprising victories against Houston, Denver and most recently, New Orleans.
Although the scrappy Kings came up with an unlikely last-second win during their last trip to STAPLES Center, the Lakers should have no problem focusing considering home court advantage up until the Finals is at stake.
