The Sacramento Kings are only a handful of games into the regular season, but DeMarcus Cousins has already earned himself his first benching of the year. On Tuesday night, Cousins was angry after Atlanta Hawks rookie Dennis Schroder hit him below the waist while running through a screen. Cousins bent over to try to get the attention of an official, but it didn’t work. Shortly after the play, Cousins was assessed a flagrant foul for shoving Al Horford in the paint.
The flagrant was later downgraded to a personal foul, but Cousins clearly lost his temper. That was enough to inspire first-year head coach Michael Malone to bench him for the final six minutes of the game.
“I took a cheap shot to my lower area,” Cousins told reporters after the game, via Cowbell Kingdom. “They (the refs) just blew it off. I guess because it was me. But as soon as something happens on the other end, because it’s me, they run to the camera.”
Cousins still needs to learn to control his temper. If he was able to remain more focused, he could easily be one of the best big men in the league. Instead, he has a tendency to clash with coaches and loaf it when things aren’t going his way. If he doesn’t get off to a solid start with Malone, the Kings could be in for another long season.
