Rajon Rondo shoved him. Kevin Garnett screamed in his face a number of times. The Celtics tried to push him around, intimidate him, and bully him throughout the entire game. But DeMarcus Cousins came away with one prevalent thought: he was impressed. (Sacramento Bee)

“They’re constantly talking,” said Kings rookie DeMarcus Cousins. “K.G. constantly talking, (Rajon) Rondo constantly talking, and they just have each other’s back all around the floor, and that’s how you become an elite team.”

As for the shoves? (AP)

“It was all in the game and it wasn’t nothing personal or dislike,” Cousins said. “That was the Celtics, and I was standing my ground. But it was really nothing.”

We hear so much about Cousins, the asshole — and that side of Cousins wasn’t entirely absent last night. He stood over Garnett off the court, complained quite a bit to the refs on it, and had to be taken out of the game after the Rondo shove.

“Whenever DeMarcus gets involved in an altercation, I don’t think it’s a bad idea to let him rest for a minute or two and collect his thoughts,” Kings head coach Paul Westphal told the Sacramento Bee. “Just protection, that’s all.”

But Cousins showed at least a small level of maturity last night. He finished a physical, hard-fought game and didn’t act upset with Boston’s antics. He just wished his own team could compete at Boston’s level every night.

Probably even more important, Cousins didn’t back down. Kevin Garnett, God bless his psychotic soul, was at his raving lunatic best (or worst, depending on your outlook on such matters). He was screaming, cussing, flexing his muscles, hyperventilating, drooling, and causing nightmares for any children aged 15 and younger. At one point during the second half, I was almost entirely sure Garnett would need an exorcism by night’s end. But Cousins wouldn’t get rattled. He never stopped going right back at KG.

It was only one night, sure. But many players get affected by KG’s antics. Many players get caught up in KG’s battle and forget the point — that it’s only a battle, that it’s only KG’s way of testing your willpower, testing whether you can stand up to his mental warfare. Yet Cousins, though he has a reputation as a problem child and though he’s only 20 years old, not only kept his cool while playing KG but also — get this — admired Garnett for it.

Not every 20-year old is so wise beyond his years, and — while I understand I’m probably the first person ever to call Cousins wise beyond his years — in this case the cliche fits. He acknowledged Boston’s team-oriented style, and he noticed their intensity level. As a competitor, Cousins saw that his team (and, I assume, himself) could use more of what Boston exudes.

I’m not going to sit here and tell you Cousins should become your role model, just because he stood his ground against Garnett and admires the way Boston does things. Cousins still needs to prove his work ethic, and he still needs to do some growing up. But the rook’s got some thick skin, in a good way, and I’m not just talking about his extra layer of blubber.

As further proof you can relate anything to the NBA, beating the Sacramento Kings is a lot like shoveling my driveway. It takes a little more than two hours and can be painful at times, but it has to be done.

“It’s not going to be a good road trip if we don’t win tonight,” said Paul Pierce, according to A. Sherrod Blakely. A win tonight would take the Celtics to 3-1 on the trip, while a loss would drop the Celtics to 2-2 and cancel out the win versus the Lakers. But these aren’t the same Tyreke Evans-less Sacramento Kings who Boston torched 119-95 on January 12. The new-look Kings have beaten the Lakers and Hornets in their last two outings, and — if you count a win at Portland and a five-point loss to Charlotte — these Kings have now won three of their last four games.

Even better, for Kings fans, DeMarcus Cousins is solidifying himself as a valid choice for Rookie of the Year (you know, if Blake Griffin runs into a season-ending injury tomorrow). Rarely does a player so big, so talented, enter the NBA. Rarely does such a big, talented player also enter the NBA with such a reputation as an immature asshole, but I digress. Cousins reminds Pierce of Chris Webber, because of his skill level with the ball in his hands. To compare the two is to forget Webber’s explosive athleticism, but still: With Cousins on board for the future (as long as he stays on the good side), the Kings have a nice building block. If Evans ever reestablishes his former role as LeBron Lite, these Kings might have something — something fun, something exciting, something worthy of League Pass Fever.

Nonetheless, no matter how improved these Kings are, the Celtics should win. They will win, if they bring 100% focus. But it’s these games, the ones against lesser opponents, the ones on the road, which have caused the Celtics trouble.

“We don’t want a letdown,’’ Rajon Rondo told the Boston Globe. “We want to go into Sacramento and try to finish off this road trip right.’’

Cheers to that. You know, if Rondo’s hopes come to fruition.

The season is approaching (but not quickly enough), so that means it’s NBA preview time. Starting with the league’s worst team and working our way to the top, we’ll preview one team per day. 

Pure talent.

Sacramento Kings

Last year’s record: 25-57
Head Coach: Paul Westphal
Projected Starters: Tyreke Evans, Francisco Garcia, Omri Casspi, Carl Landry/Jason Thompson, DeMarcus Cousins

Outlook:

I had a spirited debate with one of my friends the other day, and oddly enough it was actually about the Sacramento Kings. He said their future was bleak; the Western Conference is too loaded with talented young teams (he listed the Thunder, Blazers and Grizzlies). I said their future was bright; Tyreke Evans screams “superstar in the making” and DeMarcus Cousins could (could, with a few question marks attached) become the NBA’s biggest low-post threat. If you fast forward a few years, let those two mature and surround them with skilled role players, the Kings should be a contender. But for now? They’re still going to lose a whole lot of games. (Note: Back to my conversation, the Grizzlies??? If Rudy Gay’s your best player, you’re not going to win anything meanwhile.)

X-Factor:

Tyreke Evans’s improvement. Question: What if Evans makes the leap sooner than we all expect and becomes a 25 and 7 guy next year? Answer: Then the Kings might win 30 games. They will go as far as Evans takes them, but his supporting cast needs work. And lots of it.

By the way, about Evans? Some players have an All-Star ceiling. Evans’s is even higher.

Biggest Question Mark:

DeMarcus Cousins. Really, was there any other choice? When Fran Fraschilla says a player ”is either going to get a general manager fired or get him executive of the year,” naming him his team’s biggest question mark is pretty much automatic. I think it’s an unwritten rule that you can’t read or write about Cousins without mentioning attitude problems. 

At Kentucky, he once sat out a mandatory conditioning test. He registered 16.4% body fat at the NBA Draft combine. (For comparison’s sake, only six other players at the combine had a body fat percentage in double figures.) After Cousins worked out for one team, its GM told Sports Illustrated that Cousins “looked like he didn’t even want to be on the court when he went through drills.” Teammate Daniel Orton said Cousins is “unpredictable,” and that watching him get out of hand is “kind of like watching a kid throw a temper tantrum.”

And still, Cousins could be Rookie of the Year. The power of natural talent.

Most important newcomer:

Antoine Wright. He gives them a smooth hand off the bench, someone who can score buckets  at will and hound the opponent’s best player.

Just kidding, guys. It’s Cousins. You sick of hearing about him yet? Good, because I’m sick of writing about him. Instead, I’ll leave you with this:

Key loss:

Umm, Spencer Hawes? Needless to say, the Kings won’t shed any tears over the players they lost.

Most compelling storyline:

With mounds of cap space and two young studs, the Kings finally have a future worth discussing. But how long will it take that future to become the present?

Player to watch:

Omri Casspi. Watching him last year, I fell head over heels. For those of you who haven’t seen Caspi play basketball (which means anyone who isn’t addicted enough to buy League Pass), he’s all hustle, heart and attitude, a player teams can win with. He’s also part of one of the corniest announcing calls ever. Casspi hit a bank shot and the Kings announcer shouted in joy, “Casspi off the glass-pi!” He’s a poet and he doesn’t even make sense.

Descriptive movie quote:

“Ooh that boy’s a fine piece of work all right. He’s a fine piece of ass though, too. “ – Juanita, Billy Madison

To DeMarcus Cousins. He still needs a lot of work, but Cousins is — for lack of a better description – one fine piece of ass.

Projected Record – 24-58. The future will come, but not yet.

It's weird to think of Perk on another team.

Kendrick Perkins is the latest Celtic on the trading block, according to Fanhouse’s Sam Amick.

A league front-office source told FanHouse that the Celtics have been dangling center Kendrick Perkins and their No. 19 pick to teams with high lottery picks in attempt to add a dynamic young talent to their aging core. It’s a tough sell, considering Perkins is facing surgery as early as Friday after tearing his medial collateral ligament and partially tearing his posterior cruciate ligament in Game 6 of the NBA Finals.

If the Celtics could trade Perk and the #19 for DeMarcus Cousins or Derrick Favors, count me in. But it’s not happening. That package isn’t nearly enough. These talks are interesting and it’s weird to think Perk might be on the way out, but no team with a high lottery pick is biting on that. Perkins is the type of player every contending team needs, but rebuilding teams need the guys with higher ceilings. Plus, the guy’s got torn ligaments. This trade isn’t happening, unless the Celtics offer more.

Want to know why Kendrick Perkins went from looking like a young Wilt Chamberlain to just your regular old Erick Dampier type? Tendinitis, obviously. It’s been bothering him for the last two months. (And I know he never resembled a young Wilt Chamberlain, but if Dan Shaughnessy can give that label to DeMarcus Cousins, why can’t Perk get it too? The only way Cousins is like a young Wilt the Stilt, Dan, is if he mates like a dog in heat 24/7.)

“I felt alright, I thought I played pretty good at practice today,” said Perkins. “My knee felt better. I’m looking forward to going out there and playing [Wednesday].

“There’s a little bit [of stiffness]. It’s probably something I’ll have to deal with the rest of the season. I’ll continue to get treatment, continue to come in at night and get that treatment.”

Perkins also admitted he’s been battling the tendinitis for as much as two months before he finally took the advice of Rivers and the training staff and shut it down for the week. Perkins begrudgingly noted the injury has likely affected his game.

“I can’t get up and block shots like I want to, I can’t get up for the rebounds,” said Perkins. “But I’m out there, so I gotta get the job done. I’m not making excuses, but I think it has [affected his play] in a way.”

Perk’s admission explains a lot. His numbers have been down across the board, and we attributed them to the return of Kevin Garnett and Perk’s struggle to return to his former role.

But now we really know why his play plummetted. It’s too bad he’ll have to deal with it the rest of the season, but it’s nice that he was afforded a couple games of rest. Perhaps the rest will equate to better basketball from here out.