SACRAMENTO -- The switch has been hit. After sputtering through the first few months of the season, the Sacramento Kings are cutting through their January schedule like a hot knife through butter.
With their 108-97 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Saturday night, the Kings improved to 8-3 in 2016 and 20-23 overall. They have won five straight and look as confident as they have in a decade.
Who knew that DeMarcus Cousins would be the catalyst for change. Since January began, the 25-year-old All-Star has transformed into a superstar. On Saturday night in Sacramento, the big man put a game for the ages, barely missing his first 50 point game of his career as fans chanted, “MVP, MVP, MVP.”
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After his career-best 48-point performance against Indiana, he has all but locked up Western Conference Player of the Week and his All-Star invite should be in the mail. If there was still a question as to who the best big man in the NBA is, Cousins has answered it.
“His skills are off the chart,” George Karl said. “His hands, his ability to put it on the floor and get to the rim, defensively he’s good, maybe very good. He does all the fundamental nature of the game of basketball at a high-high level.”
[HAM: Instant Replay: Cousins takes control, Kings win fifth straight]
He’s gone from much-maligned to must-see in a matter of weeks. He has his team holding strong at the eighth spot in the Western Conference standings and with any luck, they may ride this hot streak for a little further up the charts.
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“There’s not too much you can say,” point guard Darren Collison said. “You want his production, he’s just taking strides to a whole other level. I’ve never seen this in my career from any other player that I’ve played with. It’s a blessing to see this.”
Collison has played with plenty of great players, including Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. What Cousins is doing is special.
Coming into the night, he was leading the league in scoring during the month of January. With his big night, he has pushed that average to 32.5 points per game over 11 contests in 2016. And for the season, he is averaging 26.7 per night, jumping over Kevin Durant into third place in the NBA.
It hasn’t been an easy road. The Kings have dropped the ball more than once this season, but they are steadily climbing in the standings with one singular focus.
“We’ve been through a lot this season -- a lot of ups and downs,” Cousins said. “We’re on the right path right now. I think we’re growing each and every game. My mindset is just playoffs.”
It’s well documented, but Cousins has never made the playoffs in his five-plus seasons in the league. In fact, he’s topped out at just 29 wins in his best season in Sacramento.
“There’s some rough years,” Cousins said. “But I’m not satisfied. It’s not over. We’ve still got a lot more to go. I’m happy in the moment, but I’m not satisfied.”
Rookie Willie Cauley-Stein is doing his best to keep up with his frontcourt mate. Tonight he was active on the glass and brought incredible energy, but the best thing to do was just get out of the way and let Cousins eat.
“It’s fun,” Cauley-Stein said. “You can talk trash cause you know Boogie gonna come in and do his [explicit]. It’s fun. You know it’s going to get taken care of.”
Cousins said the general manager Vlade Divac was yelling at him to go for 50 from the tunnel. But with 18.1 left on the clock, Karl pulled his star big man, allowing a packed house to give their franchise players a standing ovation.
The atmosphere was electric in Sacramento. 17,314 fans packed Sleep Train Arena to witness something they have been waiting for for almost decade. The Kings are surging behind their star big man.
RONDO KEEPS ON DISHING
There is very little doubt that Cousins will get an invite to next month’s All-Star game in Toronto, but there are plenty around the league that believe he shouldn’t be the only Kings player in attendance.
Rajon Rondo posted his sixth triple-double of the season Saturday night, finishing with 11 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds in 34 minutes of action. He has now handed out 10 or more assists in 11 straight games, a Sacramento-era record.
“I don’t know if he’s going to get All-Star votes, but he should,” Pacers coach Frank Vogel said following the game. “He’s one of the most gifted players, point guards in the game. There’s no player like him with the ability to pass the basketball. There’s no player like him in the NBA.”
Rondo’s early season run-in with official Bill Kennedy will likely hurt his chances, as will his exit from Dallas last season. But the four-time All-Star is leading the league in assists by nearly two per game and his stamp is all over this Kings team.