In a season that's only been a god-send for insomniacs, the NBA is finally waking up and giving us its premier matchup.

Who made the schedule anyway, Rip Van Stern? What took so long for the Sacramento Kings to finally play the Dallas Mavericks? After the five-game fireworks demonstration the teams gave us last spring in the Western Conference semis, they should have already played. About 10 times, if it were up to me.

	Ask Steve Nash how difficult it is to play in Arco Arena.

Whatever the reason for the delay, it's a showdown well worth the wait because it features the best head-to-head confrontation in the game today.

Tonight in Sacramento (ESPN, 9 p.m. ET), we get high noon when Mike Bibby matches cross-over dribbles with Steve Nash in the first of their three meetings over the next 43 days.

It's not only the best matchup going in the NBA these days, it's one of the very few. Jason Kidd has no peer in the East. Unfortunately, Kobe Bryant came along about a decade too late. Otherwise, his battles against the Chicago Michael Jordan would have been classics.

Games pitting Hall of Fame centers have always drawn the most attention, going back to the days of Chamberlain and Russell. But the last great center matchup, with both players in their prime, involved Hakeem Olajuwon and Patrick Ewing in the 1994 Finals. That seems like eons ago.

With the retirement of those two, Shaquille O'Neal doesn't have a real competitor, although Yao Ming is certainly doing his part to get there quickly. You'd think Tim Duncan would be involved in a few memorable confrontations, given all the quality power forwards out West. But go ahead, try naming one. So what are we supposed to do, get excited when Tracy McGrady plays Vince Carter? (What's that, Lenny, Vince is a DNP again, tonight?)

Bibby vs. Nash is the closest thing we have to a classic matchup. They're the leaders of the teams with the two best records. They're the dynamos behind the league's two top scoring teams. They're the reason to drop everything tonight and check out Dallas vs. Sacramento.

First team to 110 wins.

Then we'll start the fourth quarter, OK?

But while we're bound to see the usual pyrotechnics, the reason citizens of Dallas and Sacramento should feel good about their chances of hosting a championship parade this spring is because of the two team's respective defenses. At the start of the week, the Kings were ranked second in field-goal percentage defense (41.6) and, in one of the great turnarounds, the Mavs were third (41.7).

	Mike Bibby has become the heir to Jason Kidd as the NBA's best point guard.

Of course, the Kings have to feel a little better because of Bibby. After his astounding ascension during the playoffs last season, when he went in the blink of a jumper from potential star to present-day difference-maker, he has become the rightful heir to Kidd.

Incidentally, did you catch Bibby run Kidd off his own Meadowlands court last week, during the Kings' 36-point thrashing of the defending Eastern Conference champs?

"Mike's one of the best at what he does," Kidd said afterward. "He's a fun player to watch and to see him grow to this point -- knowing him for some time -- it's great. Unfortunately, he got the upper hand."

Bibby has been getting the upper hand since he was inexplicably traded off by the Grizzlies. Well, there is an explanation, as much as Jerry West probably doesn't want to believe it now.

After discussions with Bibby's agent, David Falk, the Grizzlies were fearful that Bibby would never re-sign with them, so they opted to deal him before he walked out via free agency. They tried to use him to land Kidd, but they refused to include Michael Dickerson in the deal. If that turned out to be dumb, they ended up looking dumber by dealing Bibby for Jason Williams. But the truth is, the Kings weren't that smart, either.

"I could stand here and tell you we all knew he'd be this good, but what Mike did last year in the playoffs was what we hoped he could do for us in a couple more years," said Jerry Reynolds, the Kings' player personnel director.

Starting with Utah and John Stockton, Bibby went through his first playoff experience like an old hand. He then got the better of Nash when the Kings KO'd Dallas in five games. And he did all he could to dethrone the Lakers before running out of gas in the overtime of Game 7 in the conference finals.

"Things sure have speeded up," Reynolds said. "During the first part of last year, Mike played less than his talent. He tried to fit in, to a fault. But as the year went along, he got more confident and comfortable. And as he later said, John Stockton got into him pretty good in our first-round series. And that taught him how to compete and play in the playoffs."

	Steve Nash Point Guard Dallas Mavericks Profile
	2002-2003 SEASON STATISTICS GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT% 36 18.6 2.8 6.8 .463 .918

	Mike Bibby Point Guard Sacramento Kings Profile
	2002-2003 SEASON STATISTICS GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT% 11 18.0 3.5 5.7 .459 .780

Bibby not only raised his scoring average from 13.7 points per game to 20.3 in the postseason. He also he showed he wants to step up and take the big shot. And, he can also make it, as Dallas and the Lakers found out.

"What else is there for us to do besides winning the championship?" he said. "That's all I'm focused on now."

In Arco Arena, he'll be focused on Nash, the Mavs' energizer and key to their franchise record-breaking 31-5 start. Like Bibby, his original team gave up on him, proving once again that like NFL quarterbacks, you need to stick three or four seasons with playmakers before you know what you really have.

Unless, of course, you're lucky enough to get Magic Johnson. The Mavs were lucky to get Nash after it became apparent that he would be stuck behind Kidd in Phoenix. If anyone sees Nash standing still at any time during play, get a picture and then alert the Pulitzer Prize committee. You'll be an automatic winner in the spot-news photography competition. In constant attack mode, he gets a lot of looks for Dirk Nowitzki and Michael Finley.

"It's unbelievable how much better Steve has gotten since he first started in this league," said Terry Porter, the former playmaker who now is an assistant on Rick Adelman's Kings staff. "Here's a case of a guy who got more confidence as he got more playing time. But more than anything, he's in a system that benefits his skills. The way he constantly penetrates and either scores or finds open teammates, he's the lightning to that team."

But you don't need to catch lightning in a bottle to see a great NBA showdown this week.

Just set your snooze button for tonight.

Mitch Lawrence, who covers the NBA for the New York Daily News, is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.