Impossible, you say.

Most would be inclined to agree with you, dear reader. Heading into this season, the Kings may have been the most-talked about team and often, the Kings were doing the talking.

Yao has been on TV plenty this season, but now Webber and the Kings plan to get some air time. Bill Baptist NBAE/Getty Images

It started moments after their 2001-02 season ended when the Kings fell in a classic, seven-game Western Conference Finals with the Lakers. We'll be back, they said.

The talk continued in the preseason when Mike Bibby, playfully or not, told an ARCO Arena crowd, yeah, 70 wins is within reach. That predicition is somewhat shaky, thanks to Bibby, who hasn't played a game because of a stress fracture in his foot. Bibby plans to return Thursday against the Spurs (10 p.m. ET, TNT).

"I’ve been anxious to get back on the court," Bibby told Kings.com after his first practice, "even though I knew that we were winning and doing good. It was fun to watch but know I want to be a part of it.”

Shaquille O'Neal then weighed in when he referred to Northern California's favorite team as "the Sacramento Queens."

Finally, there was the dust-up in the final preseason game between Rick Fox and Doug Christie that started in Los Angeles, spilled over into the arena hallway and will be resumed (as spirited competition, we hope, coverage begins at 5:30 ET on ABC) on Christmas Day, the first meeting between the two teams this season.

But a funny thing happened on the way to the STAPLES Center. The Kings have managed to stay under the radar for the first quarter of the season. With Dallas' flashy start, the arrival of Yao Ming and the Lakers' bickering/implosion, the Kings' have been lost in the shuffle.

Maybe the Kings have escaped notice because they started 3-3. Maybe it's that they're averaging a full five points fewer than they did last season.

Still, the Kings are 21-6, the second-best mark in the NBA. They are 13-0 at home, have a six-game lead in the Pacific Division and have two six-game winning streaks.

FIVE BEST WINS

Nov. 8 vs. Grizzlies 99-91 over Memphis One of two times Stojakovic leads Kings in scoring as they snap a three-game losing streak despite nearly blowing a 29-point lead Video: 56k | 300k

Nov. 17 vs. Orlando 101-99 over Magic Magic erase 11-point deficit, tie the game at 99 with 4.6 seconds remaining, but Webber hits the winner with 1.5 on the clock Video: 56k | 300k

Nov. 23 at Blazers 95-94 win in Portland Turkoglu hits two free throws, then Blazers miss two shots that would have given them a win Video: 56k | 300k

Dec. 4 at Nuggets 92-90 over Denver Divac grabs 14 boards as Kings withstand Nuggets comeback as Chris Whitney's three is just short at the buzzer. Video: 56k | 300k

Dec. 14 at Jazz 98-96 over Utah In a game where neither team led by more than nine, Webber's free throws late give Kings controversial win Video: 56k | 300k

Then again, maybe the reason Sacramento has been quiet is the sole King to have played in all 27 games through Dec. 19 is Damon Jones, someone who is with his seventh team in five years. And that's what makes Sacramento's start all the more impressive as the Kings are putting up these numbers despite an injury list that doubles as a second roster.

Bibby hasn't stepped foot onto the floor. Peja Stojakovic has missed 10 games with plantar fasciitis and is shooting 40.8 percent from the field. Scot Pollard has a stress fracture in his back and fellow super sub Hedo Turkoglu has missed eight with a sprained wrist. The Kings have been so short-handed, they dressed the league-minimum eight players in a 90-74 loss to Minnesota on Nov. 27.

Since that loss, the Kings have won nine of 10. How have they done it?

Injuries are no new trend for the Kings. Last year, Chris Webber missed 28 games. Stojakovic missed 11.

But guys like Jones and Jim Jackson have plugged the holes. Jackson, who is on his ninth team in 11 NBA seasons and whom the Kings signed on Dec. 1, has averaged 9.7 points in his nine games. Chris Webber, who won Western Conference Player of the Week honors last week, has been playing like an MVP candidate. And then there's Bobby Jackson who has more than held his own while Bibby's been out. Jackson has put up All-Star worthy stats (20.2 points per game, 4.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists, while shooting 50.8 percent from the field).

And when Bibby comes back, Jackson will head back to the bench willingly.

"I'm going to make (Bibby) work," Jackson told the Sacramento Bee recently. "I'm going to do the best I can. Everyone thinks it's going to be hard for me when [he] comes back, but it's not."

"I love to play."

His passion is infectious. The Bee called Jackson "the sparkplug of an injury-riddled early season." Still, the most potent potentate remains remarkably not impressed by the Kings' fast start.

"No, not really," Webber told the Bee. "I think it's the program. Like it used to be said that Utah had a system that allowed people to step in and contribute immediately. I think our coaches have put in a system like that. We have a versatile team where a lot of players can play a lot of different positions."

It's that type of versatility that will make the Kings truly impressive when they have their full complement of players.

Maybe then they can finally make some noise.