DeMarcus Cousins Deserves To Start NBA All-Star Game
By Cody Williams
@TheSizzle20
Getty Images
In the NBA for the 2014-15 season, it’s hard to pinpoint a more polarizing figure than Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins. We’ve seen countless displays of immaturity over his career, heard numerous reports about the negative opinions people around the league have of him, and essentially have kept waiting for him to grow up. However, we’ve also seen that he’s one of the most talented big men in the NBA today.
As the Kings have gotten off to a 9-7 start to the 2014-15 season, Cousins has undoubtedly been the catalyst and has looked like a new player. The Kings big man is on-pace for the most productive season of his career as he’s averaging 23.5 points, 12.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.5 blocks and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 51.2 percent from the floor. More importantly, though, he’s shown a new level of commitment and leadership with this team.
Though the Kings’ success seems a bit fragile at this point in the season, the production and seemingly newfound maturity of Cousins is certainly sustainable. The fact that Sacramento likely won’t be chasing a title this season hurts any case for Cousins as an MVP, but it doesn’t change the fact that Cousins deserves to be a starter in the 2015 NBA All-Star Game.
With the current All-Star voting system in place, Cousins would have to be one of the three frontcourt players selected by the fans to start. While you might think that hurts the case of the Sacramento big man, Cousins ranks second among Western Conference frontcourt players in scoring (behind Anthony Davis), first among that group in rebounds, and ranks in the top 10 in that group in both steals and blocks. On both ends of the floor, you could argue that no player other than Davis has had as big of an impact on his team than Cousins.
The sad reality is that Cousins likely won’t get the start he deserves in the All-Star Game, though he’ll almost undoubtedly be a member of the squad. The popularity of guys like Kevin Durant and Blake Griffin in addition to Davis undoubtedly trumps that of Cousins. If we’re just looking at what’s been accomplished to this point, though, Cousins deserves to represent the West as a starter this year in the All-Star Game.
Cody Williams is a Senior Writer with Rant Sports. Follow Cody on Twitter @TheSizzle20, add him on Google and like his Facebook page.
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