Kings' DeMarcus Cousins not playing up to potential

Originally published on SacramentoPress.com on March 11, 2013


Kings' center DeMarcus Cousins isn’t helping his reputation. The 22-year-old center was ejected from Sunday night’s game as the Kings fell 115-113 to the Milwaukee Bucks.

The ejection marks a league-high fourth time the King’s big man has been sent to shower early.

Cousins got into an altercation with Milwaukee Bucks forward Mike Dunleavy, resulting in him being disqualified in the third quarter for the remainder of the game.

The young big man has built a reputation of being troubled and continues to hurt the Kings with technicals (12 this year) and early showers.

But the fact is the Kings need the talented center, and need him to be on the court.

With so many holes on the roster, the Kings need all the talent they can get and Cousins brings it. Cousins was having a monster game with 24 points and 10 rebounds before being ejected Sunday.

He’s averaging 17 points and 10 rebounds a game this season and has the potential to grow.

Cousins’ large frame and agility, along with the ability to hit the outside shot, gives the Kings much needed talent.

Having him on the floor disrupts the opponents’ defense as he has the potential to get right by them if they guard against his jump shot.

The combination of size and speed that Cousins possesses is difficult to find which is why the Kings must try and find a way to get the best out of their 6-foot-11, 270-pound center, and that means keeping him on the court.

Cousins has built himself a reputation of being immature and has found himself on the bench or even suspended by the team. The team was forced to suspend him earlier this season because of a reported argument with head coach Keith Smart.

Cousins has the potential to become one of the greatest big men in the league if he can get his head together, but based on his recent behavior, the Kings may never see him reach that potential.

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