The Sacramento Kings were a few free throws and a couple of calls away from earning a right to play for a NBA Championship last season.

The Kings, like the Detroit Pistons and the Utah Jazz once were, are at a crossroad.

Do the Kings resemble the championship Pistons of the 80’s, or the underachieving Jazz of the 90’s?

These two teams were on opposite ends of the spectrum, which had the opportunity of going different directions.

The Pistons were able to overcome their nemesis, the Boston Celtics and Los Angles Lakers, to become champions.

The Jazz were unable to reach their goal of becoming champions, thus leaving John Stockton and Karl Malone rings.

Utah was unable to win the ring for two reasons.

Reason No. 1: Timing. Utah was unable to assemble the right team at the right time.

There is no doubt that Malone and Stockton are first ballot Hall Of Famers. It’s the players around them that are in question.

Mark Eaton was the center that Utah needed to protect the middle in the 90’s, not Greg Ostertag. Ostertag was nothing better than a backup.

Yes, I understand that Malone was the low-post scorer, but the truth remains that Ostertag was never the presence in the middle that Utah needed to block shots and grab rebounds.

Maybe, just maybe, if Eaton is in the middle, Malone and Stockton have a ring.

Reason No. 2: Experience. Bryon Russell, Howard Eisley, and Shandon Anderson were terrific role players. What these players lacked was experience. These players hadn’t been through the wars like Stockton and Malone.

They had been put on the front line against Hitler and the German army (Michael Jordan and company). The experience and talent of Malone and Stockton alone was not enough to defeat the Chicago Bulls.

When experience caught up with talent, the time was right for the Detroit Pistons to rule the NBA.

There was never a question; Detroit was talented.

Led By Isiah Thomas, the supporting cast was in place for the Pistons to take their place in history. Winning a championship was no cakewalk for the “Badboys” of Detroit. With the pieces in place, the only thing lacking was experience.

After choking away the sixth game to the Boston Celtics in the 1987 Eastern Conference finals, questions lingered about the fortitude of Detroit.

The following year, defeating their archrival wasn’t good enough. Losing to the Los Angles Lakers in a tough seven-game series was the final step in the maturation process.

In the 1989 season the shift finally occurred. The talent of the Pistons and the experience merged into one entity. A force so strong it could only be called one word: Champion.

The Pistons steam rolled the Lakers, answering all questions about whether Thomas could be a superstar, could Detroit defeat the Celtics, and could the Pistons defeat the Lakers. Sound familiar anybody?

Sacramento is a team that is now on the verge of winning a championship.

A team that resembles Utah with its great play from the point guard and power forward positions. Both teams play in the west, run great pick and rolls, and both cities have no soul food.

Those are the only things the two teams have in common. Oh excuse me! To this point, both have zero championships.

Sacramento defeating Utah in the 2002 playoffs was the passing of the small market torch, setting the Kings up to walk the same path of a late 80’s dynasty team.

Both are rivals with the Lakers, and both need to get over a hump. Is it starting to come to you now? Both have great point guard play, skilled centers that can get under your skin.

Anymore clues?

Stars that must silence the critics.

Is there any question that Sacramento is walking the path Detroit once graced in the late 80’s? There is no question that Sacramento is following in Detroit’s footsteps.

With the Lakers attempting a four-peat, I can’t help but think about the arrogant Pat Riley patenting the term three-peat, and ending up eating his words when the Lakers lost to the Pistons in the finals.

Nobody knows if the planets are aligned in Sacramento’s favor. However, in an eerie way it seems as history is repeating itself. What do you say, Kings in four?

To respond to Ayo Taylor’s column, please e-mail The State Hornet at [email protected]