Wednesday Windmill: DeMarcus Cousins isn't getting enough respect

     Kings center DeMarcus Cousins is one of the best big men in the NBA if not the best. He's averaging 25.9 points per game, 11.1 rebounds per game, 2.7 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.3 blocks. He's also shooting 33.9% from three-point range on 3.8 three-point shot attempts per game, which means he's averaging 1.3 three-point field goals per game. That's not too shabby.

     Sadly, "Boogie" Cousins isn't yet getting the level of respect that he deserves. At least not from the fans. The fact that Mavericks center Zaza Pachulia (10.5 points, 11.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.0 steals, and .4 blocks) has way more all-star votes than him isn't funny. It's sad and embarrassing. If there's any reason for why fans should not vote for all-star starters, the fact that Zaza Pachulia is carrying more weight in the polls than DeMarcus Cousins is a pretty compelling piece of data.

     So, with all of that being true, one has to now ask why this is the case. There are two major reasons for why DeMarcus Cousins isn't getting the amount of respect he deserves. The first reason is that he plays in a small market and the second reason is that over the course of his career, he has been a bit of a drama queen.

     Fans don't care to vote for players who they have no respect for and since DeMarcus Cousins over the years has brought a lot of negative attention on himself, the negative attention is all that the casual fan outside of Sacramento knows about him. They don't look up his numbers and see all the amazing work he's doing on the court. They don't know that he makes more than 1 three-point shot per game, etc. They don't know that because they hardly ever see him play. The fact of the matter is that if DeMarcus Cousins played in a large market like Los Angeles, New York, or Chicago, he would have a lot more respect around the league from fans.

     As far as the mainstream basketball analysts are concerned, the ones on TNT and ESPN, those guys know how good DeMarcus Cousins is, but even they have their doubts due to his lack of an ability to lead his team into the playoffs. They know the numbers he's putting up, but they question his leadership. This I think is a more fair criticism to have of DeMarcus Cousins. His numbers are great, but can he lead a team deep into the playoffs?

     I think the answer to that question is only time will tell, but with the way he's playing, there's not a good reason to really think he can't. Leading a team deep into the playoffs requires experience and having a team around you that is capable of doing serious damage. DeMarcus Cousins hasn't yet had that, but it's finally starting to come together.

     I'm confident that in time, DeMarcus Cousins' numbers will translate to playoff success and that the Sacramento Kings will once again be a force in the Western Conference. It may take a couple more seasons, but so long as DeMarcus Cousins continues to deliver like he does, the Kings will be competitive for a very long time.