Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the furthest of them all?

The Dallas Mavericks, in the standings. They own the best record in the league with a six-game winning streak, nine victories in the past 10 games and the cushion of an eight-game lead over San Antonio in the Midwest Division.

	Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavs have wanted to be like the Kings for quite some time.

The Sacramento Kings, in reality. The Pacific Division leaders have proved it when it matters, the playoffs. This regular season hasn't exactly been a disappointment, either.

Two teams, one look. One building, too -- Arco Arena, tonight (ESPN, 9 ET), in the first matchup of the season of the near identicals.

That the game is in Sacramento is no surprise. The Mavericks have been following the Kings for years, nearly stride for stride, step by step. No less an observer than Don Nelson has made the same analogy, by means of complimenting the Kings, and just because it was accurate.

Getting foreign players. The steel-bending turn from the lottery to respectability to success. The young, energetic, people-person ownership. The Kings were always a year or so ahead, the pace car for what Dallas wanted to become. Even Mad Cowbell Disease. Clang, clang, clang went the Sacramento crowd last spring in the Western Conference semifinals -- to the point of extreme in which the Mavericks complained it went beyond the normal course of crowd excitement so close to their bench -- so Mark Cuban rallied the charges in Texas to make sure a similar fate awaited the visitors when the series moved from Sacramento.

The noise was very rock show, but the show from the home team didn't match. The Kings took control, and Nellie stayed with the pursuit angle: "I tried to make that statement before the series even started. This is sort of new to us. (The Kings) have been through these wars more than we have. We had been in the playoffs one time, last year."

And...

"It surprised me that we lost those two games at home, that we got kicked in the teeth," Nelson said. "That's what I keep coming back to. (The Kings) looked better under pressure in the fourth quarter and whatever you want to talk about. That's what we hope to be."

Several months later, that's what the Mavericks have become.

The Kings became legitimate contenders when they evolved into more than a one-dimensional offensive explosion. Being fun was one thing. Being successful deep into the playoffs was another. The Mavericks learned that lesson in the playoff meeting with their mirror image last spring, getting beaten in five games and beaten down by allowing a river of easy baskets. Then they applied the lesson.

	“	Sacramento's got the best team and we've got the best record. It should be a lot of fun. I think we're all a little intrigued. ”
		— Don Nelson

Dallas is now a legitimate contender because it, too, has made the commitment to defense this season. The banner the Mavericks raised in their practice facility inside American Airline Center, noting that very shortcoming in the semifinals, became part of the impetus.

From allowing 101 points a game last season to 91.1 heading into Wednesday. From 45.2 percent in field-goal defense, the better barometer, to 41.8.

From Wanna Be to Have Become.

So alike have the two paths been, both trying to chase down the Lakers at the same time in years past, that even when it finally happened through at least the first three months of this season, both teams did it with injuries. The Mavericks had to go without Nick Van Exel and Raef LaFrentz, an elite shot-blocker, for long stretches near the start, but moved forward seemingly unfazed. The Kings pushed on with a roster in constant injury flux, from Mike Bibby early to the All-Stars, Chris Webber and Peja Stojakovic, more recently.

"This is the best I've felt all season," Stojakovic said Sunday, finally finding reason for optimism after battling his sore arch for months. "Everything is coming around, especially my foot. My conditioning and movement is getting better. And finally, I'm starting to make some shots."

So bring on tonight's showdown at Arco.

"They are the best team in the league, so it's going to have a little bit more juice to it," Kings coach Rick Adelman said. "But in the long run, I still say it's about how we play. If we win or lose this game, our season doesn't end the next day."

"Sacramento's got the best team and we've got the best record," Nelson said. "It should be a lot of fun. I think we're all a little intrigued."

Or more than a little.

The closest thing to trash-talking in this still-emerging lovefest is Webber noting how "I still don't see (the Mavericks) as a defensive team, if you play a zone." Animosity is the one thing missing to turn this into a heated rivalry along the lines of Kings-Lakers or Knicks-Heat, and it's because the teams like each other. The owners gush about each other. The coaches are both veterans who have guided young players to basketball maturity.

Mirrors, anyone?

Warriors' preventive maintenance

	Musselman

The start for the Warriors has been promising, but it also comes with a reality check: They were 12-17 last season on Dec. 26, then fell off the cliff, losing 15 of 17. They were 10-20 on Dec. 30 in 2000-01, then dropped nine of 13 to end the good feelings. The most encouraging part of all, though, is that it is coach Eric Musselman who is quick to remind everyone of that past, not wanting his players to get satisfied with these steps.

Of course, it also comes with Golden State still unable to defend, scoring a lot only because it shoots a lot to overcome the poor accuracy rate, and trade possibilities looming. Some teams have shown at least passing interest in Danny Fortson, but talks should heat up as soon as the Warriors look to streamline a roster loaded with forwards and swingmen while top prospect Mike Dunleavy doesn't get the chance to develop and fight through the usual rookie mistakes. Fortson, a rebounding specialist, has become a bench ornament, although, in an upset, a quiet one.

Until something happens, the Warriors have each other, the past ... and a promise.

"We're not going to go into a tailspin," Musselman said.

Situation sours for Kandi Man

	Olowokandi

The real development in the Michael Olowokandi situation, since saying he would not re-sign with the Clippers this summer was merely the formality of making official what had already been clear, is a souring relationship with management. Olowokandi, rightly, puts the blame on owner Donald T. Sterling. But his critical comments about the team have prompted fans at home games to boo him and the front office to feel burned after spending years sticking up for him during the rough moments of the developmental stage.

That general manager Elgin Baylor would say "He needs to learn to keep his mouth shut" is telling beyond the comment itself. Baylor has always been tremendously loyal, even when it meant quietly taking a hit for the mismanagement of his boss, and rarely has a harsh comment for a former player, let alone a starter still on his roster. So his snap at Olowokandi is strikingly harsh, not to mention being a reaction to more than Kandi's comments about leaving at the end of the season.

Scott Howard-Cooper, who covers the NBA for the Sacramento Bee, is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.