Turnover Tuesdays with Mr. Taylor

What a difference a week makes.

After a locker room outburst from DeMarcus Cousins and the “family meeting” that followed, the Kings reeled off three straight wins at home to improve to 4-7 on the season.

Perhaps the most encouraging part of the winning streak is that it included victories over two quality eastern conference opponents in the Detroit Pistons and Toronto Raptors. The Kings could be turning a corner, but all that feel-good momentum could come to a screeching halt if the team can’t get a few wins on their first extended road trip of the season over the next two weeks.

But before they embark East, let’s take a look at the week that was.

• DeMarcus Cousins played out of his mind the past three games, averaging 36.3 points, 10.7 rebounds and 1.7 blocks on 51 percent from the field, 78 percent from the line (on 12.0 attempts per game) and 60 percent from deep. When Cousins is hitting the 3-pointer, he’s basically unstoppable. If the Kings keep winning, expect Boogie to join Steph Curry and LeBron James in the MVP discussion.
• Speaking of playing out of their mind, Rajon Rondo also had a week to remember. The veteran lead guard averaged 14.7 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 14.3 assists the past three games, while racking up a triple-double in two of the three Kings wins.
• For the season, Sacramento is a respectable 16^th in the league in offensive rating. But when taking a closer look, it seems low for a team that is 10th in field-goal percentage, 2nd in 3-point percentage, 7th in free throws attempted, and 3rd in assists. The cause? Turnovers and poor free throw shooting. The Kings rank dead last in turning the ball over and 28^th in efficiency from the charity stripe. Imagine if they tightened those areas up?
• Even though he missed a game against Brooklyn last week, Rudy Gay showed again that he excels playing the second fiddle to Cousins. In the two games he played, Gay posted 26 points per game on 67 percent from the field.
• Third year guard, Ben McLemore showed signs of life this past week. In extended minutes against Brooklyn and Toronto, he put up 11.5 points on 57 percent from the field and 63 percent from beyond the arc.
• It was a tough week for Kings reserve Kosta Koufos as he shot just 36 percent from the field and struggled rebounding, averaging just 7.3 per 36 minutes.
• Sacramento got back-up point guard Seth Curry back last week, but he struggled in very limited minutes scoring 1.5 points per game in 4.5 minutes. In contrast, starting point guard Rajon Rondo averaged 45 minutes per game this week. The Kings need Darren Collison back. Bad.
• Despite starting several games prior, swingman James Anderson was a DNP-CD against the Raptors on Sunday night.

The week ahead:

11/18 versus the Atlanta Hawks (in Atlanta, GA)

11/19 versus the Miami Heat (in Miami, FL)

11/21 versus the Orlando Magic (in Orlando, FL)

11/23 versus the Charlotte Hornets (in Charlotte, NC)

Call me an optimist but I think the Kings go into next week winning 3 of 4 to bring their record to 7-8 and nipping on .500’s heels.

But what do I know?