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SALT LAKE CITY -- DeMarcus Cousins is having a breakout season for the Sacramento Kings.
The second-year center out of Kentucky has flourished under Kings coach Keith Smart, averaging 17 points and 11 rebounds per game. Cousins has been even better in his last five games, averaging 27 points and 13 rebounds per contest.
Cousins has progressed so much that he’s captured the attention of one of the best big men in the history of the NBA, Tim Duncan.
"He's getting better and better," Duncan said to the Sacramento Bee after the Spurs beat the Kings 112-107 on Wednesday. "Every time we play them he's getting better. He's getting more comfortable with his role. He's expanded his game and he always plays hard, so he's getting better."
Cousins complimented Duncan during the game by at one point telling him, “(Bleep), you’re good.”
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No kissing Cousins; Kings up next for Jazz
Round 3 of the Devin Harris/DeMarcus Cousins war of words and then some.While there may be a mutual respect between Cousins and Duncan, there’s no love lost between Cousins and Jazz point guard Devin Harris, who have mixed it up on several occasions this season.
"I don't know what his issue is," Cousins said to the Deseret News about Harris after the Jazz’s 103-102 victory in Sacramento last Thursday. "But I can definitely solve it."
Harris may be wondering the same thing about the Kings’ young center, who has seemingly gone out of his way to be physical with Harris by giving Harris some hard bumps during the last two matchups. Things got so tense the last time these two teams played that Harris gave Cousins a prolonged stare-down while Cousins made it a point to remove his mouth guard to yell something unsavory to Harris.
The Jazz (27-24) and Kings (17-33) play tonight for the fourth and final time this season, which means one more meeting between Harris and Cousins. It’s also the last time the Jazz will match up against former BYU star Jimmer Fredette.
Fredette, who took the college basketball world by storm a season ago, is spending more time on the bench than on the court, losing minutes on a guard-heavy roster to fellow rookie Isaiah Thomas, who now starts for the Kings.
Smart knows that battling high expectations coming out of college can make the transition to the pro game even more challenging.
"I know exactly what he's going through," Smart said to the Sacramento Bee. "I went from hitting the winning shot on a championship team (Indiana in 1987) … and it's hard. You want so much more. But he's learning, he's improving. He's like most rookies in this league who just need time to develop."
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Limited minutes aren't limiting Jimmer's headlines
Despite playing less than 10 minutes in each of the Kings' past five games, Jimmer Fredette is once again headlining articles across the nation as the Sacramento Kings prepare to visit EnergySolutions Arena for the second time this year.For the Jazz, they’re looking to bounce back from a difficult road trip. The Jazz were 1-2 on their recent East Coast trip. They dropped the opener, a quadruple overtime thriller to the Hawks in Atlanta. They followed their loss to the Hawks with a win over Deron Williams and the Nets in New Jersey, and then dropped a defensive battle to the Celtics in Boston.
The Jazz who are 19-6 at home this season are looking to get back in the win column against a Sacramento team that has struggled on the road this season. The Kings, who have lost four straight, are 4-22 away from Power Balance Pavilion this season.
The Jazz and Kings have played in some close games with two of their last three matchups going down to the wire. The last time these two teams met, Al Jefferson tipped in a Harris-missed shot/pass with .9 seconds remaining to give the Jazz a one-point win.
The last time these teams met in Salt Lake City, Fredette had a chance to put the Kings up by one with 4.2 seconds remaining but launched an air ball. Fredette claimed he was fouled, but no call was ever made and the Jazz held on to win 96-93.
The game is tonight at 7 at EnergySolutions Arena and will be televised by Root Sports.
Jarrod Hiatt is a freelance writer who writes Jazz previews for KSL.com. You can follow Jarrod on Twitter at @jarrodhiatt.
