DeMarcus Cousins had 21 points and 12 rebounds in his return to the lineup but the Kings dropped their sixth straight game. Their 1-7 start to the season is the worst since the 1991 season.
Many hoped that his return would bring back stability but the result was the same and reactions after the game raised plenty of questions that must be resolved in the next couple of weeks.
The season is not going the way the Kings had planed, but their schedule hasn’t been very friendly either. Oh, and add injuries on top of that. But this is the NBA and excuses are frowned upon.
Ex-Spur Marco Belinelli had 17 points and Omri Casspi had 16 for the Kings. Rajon Rondo had nine points and 12 assists, but also committed nine turnovers, including four in the final quarter.
“I’ve been in positions where you have bad starts. I’ve had everything in my life, from six straight to nine straight,” Kings coach George Karl said. “We just have to play more 48 minutes of basketball, more solid basketball and more together basketball.”
The Kings have an important 3-game stretch where they will have an opportunity to show their true character as a team. Things haven’t gone the way they thought but now the veterans they acquired via free agency will have to step up in the locker room and settle this team down before things get worse.
The Kings have enough talent, but they have to show it on the floor because talk is cheap and they did a lot of talking before the season started.
“We’ve got some issues in the house we need to figure out. It will be a players-only meeting (tomorrow),” Cousins said. “But just to make it clear, I believe in every single person in this room. We got to stay together. I feel like when those issues are fixed, winning will come.”
Hopefully that meeting is positive.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxoZkOK-_tQ
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