Cousins still out of practice with illness, questionable Tuesday
Whatever DeMarcus Cousins caught, it's not very friendly.
The Sacramento Kings center has missed the team's last two games due to an illness, and he remained out of practice Monday. While the team is hopeful he'll be able to test how he feels in shootaround Tuesday, his status for the NBA TV showdown with the Toronto Raptors remains in question.
The 9-8 Kings have dropped both games Cousins missed, continuing a troubling trend of completely collapsing when he's off the floor.
| Kings | O-Rating | D-Rating | Net Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| with Cousins | 112.4 | 100.2 | 12.2 |
| without Cousins | 99.8 | 115.3 | -15.5 |
Ryan Hollins has spotted in at center with Cousins on the shelf, and Reggie Evans has made good use of extended run, but there's simply no replacing an early-season MVP candidate, even for a few games. Cousins has averaged 23.5 points, 12.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.5 blocks in 15 games while shooting 51.2 percent from the floor
He may have some additional motivation to play through the illness Tuesday in order to help teammate Rudy Gay get a win against his former team nearly one year to the day he was traded.
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