- The Kings pulled off a very improbable win against the Celtics last night without their superstar DeMarcus Cousins, who was serving a one-game suspension following his 16th technical foul of the season February 6th against the Bulls. The technical was called after Cousins shoved a Bulls’ coach in another one of his outbursts.
Two days later, with Cousins sidelined, Darren Collison led the way for the Kings. He finished with a team-high 26 points, five assists, and four steals to power his team past the Celtics.
Following the win, Collison was praising “unbelievable” team effort in the game. He also went on to say, “Nobody was complaining about the calls.”
This was clearly a nod to Cousins, who has cost the Kings plenty in defense by arguing calls throughout his career, and Collison wasn’t even trying to be subtle about it.
Comments like these from your starting point guard about your superstar could lead to (or contribute to) a toxic environment. If Collison is disgruntled with Cousins, and it’s looking like he might be, it begs the question: Who else is disgruntled with the Kings’ lone superstar? And what could this mean looking ahead to the trade deadline.
We’ll be watching to see how Cousins reacts to these comments as time passes.
