In case you haven’t been watching the Sacramento Kings, and there’s a decent chance you haven’t, DeMarcus Cousins has been a revelation since head coach Paul Westphal was fired. Cousins has said repeatedly how much he enjoys playing for new coach Keith Smart. But he’s not the only one helping Cousins turn himself in to the Kings’ best player. As Ken Helin of Pro Basketball Talk writes, Cousins is also getting advice from Kings legend Chris Webber.
“So it makes some sense that Webber has stepped forward as sort of a mentor for DeMarcus Cousins, the incredibly talented Kings big man who has had rough patches of his own already and didn’t really mesh with former coach Paul Westphal. In a note from the Boston Globe, Cousins said he appreciates Webber for just offering advice and not jumping on him with criticism.
‘I have the utmost respect for C-Web, he’s a real person,’’ Cousins said. “He just gives me advice, tells me how to handle situations. He went through similar situations so of course he has advice for me. I guess you can say a big brother looking over me.’
That’s a good big brother to have.”
Cousins is averaging 16 points and eleven boards a game and is a double double machine. He still does some knucklehead stuff like pick up technical fouls at inopportune times, but is starting to play at the level the Kings were hoping for when they drafted him. Having said that, the Kings are still 12-26, good for worst in the Pacific Division and second to last in the West. This is a young team with some potential, but they could really use a couple of veterans to help steady the ship. But it seems like with Cousins they are at least headed in the right direction.
