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.

If he's sleeping, don't wake him.

Kevin Garnett dove onto the floor after a loose ball, and DeMarcus Cousins couldn’t just let him be. 1:45 remained in the first half, and the Celtics were struggling, down 46-39. The ignitable Kings center peacocked over to Garnett’s body, taunting the veteran while Garnett laid on the floor. Rajon Rondo took action, starting a shoving match with Sacramento’s prized rookie, but Garnett didn’t show any initial response to Cousins’ tough-guy act. From the floor, Garnett couldn’t.

But Cousins done fucked up. If Garnett normally behaves like a rabid dog in heat, he spend the rest of tonight’s game like a ‘roid-raging rabid dog in heat. He rose for a dunk and missed, but screamed for the next 15 seconds or so. He somehow blocked Samuel Dalembert’s dunk attempt, and flexed his muscles toward the Celtics bench… while screaming for the next 15 seconds or so. He stole the ball from Carl Landry, dove on the floor to knock the ball to Rajon Rondo, watched Rondo throw an impossible pass to Ray Allen, saw Allen drill a three-pointer… and I couldn’t see it, but I assume he screamed for the next 15 seconds or so. Garnett’s play turned the Celtics around, and a game that once promised to end in a disappointing loss became an exciting, come-from-behind, 95-90 victory.

Did anybody expect such an enthralling affair to result from Celtics-Kings? But Paul Westphal has his troops playing hard, and they exude confidence in a way that’s disarming when coming from a 12-34 outfit. Donte Greene shoots like he’s the NBA’s best player. Pooh Jeter runs the show like nobody can stop him. Tyreke Evans plays with his normal cocksure nature. And Cousins struts around, talking a whole lot of smack and stealing Nate Robinson’s three-point celebration in the process. This Kings team has an unnatural swagger for such a — for lack of a better word — shitty team, and played like they had every intention of defending their home court against the Eastern Conference’s best team.

But Garnett had other plans, and, granted, his teammates offered a lot of help. Rondo was at his aggressive best, utilizing his speed to make plays for himself as well as others. There was one span in the first half where Rondo twice got rejected on fast break layups. That would normally be a horrible thing, but, well, it was nice to see Rondo actually dial his own number. I don’t know why Rondo suddenly remembered he could score while attacking the basket — maybe it was because Beno Udrih defended him, or maybe his body felt spry, or maybe he just ate his Wheaties this morning. For whatever reason, Rondo attacked the hoop like he hadn’t all season long.

Rondo’s backup, Nate Robinson, provided more of a mixed bag. I spent the first half completely infuriated by Robinson’s play. He took one terrible shot, and bricked it. He had a two-on-one fast break with Marquis Daniels by his side, and charged like a blind moose into the lone defender. At halftime, I decided what type of guy Nate Robinson is. He’s the type of guy who, if given the choice of crossing a lake in a motorboat or a jet-ski, would choose to swim instead. He doesn’t like when things are easy. It’s too simple to run the offense and take good shots. It’s too easy to dish the ball back to Daniels on that two-on-one for a wide open layup. Robinson spent that whole first half swimming, while the motorboat sat at the dock waiting to give him a ride.

And then he spent the second half trying to earn his way back into my heart. Little by little, he did. I screamed about missed shots, but my brother calmly reminded me, “Hey, those were actually smart shots.” Before I knew it, Robinson was back in my good graces. Why? He just worked hard as hell. Stole five passes. Deflected who-knows-how-many more. And he smartened up, too. Actually resisted taking a pull-up three-pointer on a fast break, when I was 99.73% sure he was going to fire. Worked the ball around, letting the offense come to him (even if he STILL couldn’t make shots). By the end of the game Robinson was out of my doghouse, but, quarter by quarter, I never know whether I’ll hate him or love him.

Some Celtics were more consistent. Paul Pierce was in “let the game come to me, I’ll silently do my thing” mode, but drilled a late stepback jumper to basically seal the deal. Ray Allen has officially graduated from “I’m surprised by every miss” to “if he gets an open look, I would bet my house on it.” Glen Davis quietly pieced together a nice game, and even threw down a dunk in the fourth quarter. And Kendrick Perkins was Kendrick Perkins. He sprinted the floor, boxed out, threw a few after-the-buzzer forearm shivers, and never once went straight up with a layup. He contributed eight points and ten rebounds, and the Celtics are far better off when he’s in uniform.

For the Kings, Samuel Dalembert played the best 2-9 shooting game I’ve ever seen. I’m not even using sarcasm. No, really, I’m not. Dalembert was a force. He blocked five shots. Flew around the whole court like he grew wings before the game. If Dalembert played every game with that intensity, he’d be one of the best energy players in the league. He’d be like Chris “Birdman” Anderson, except a couple inches taller and without the multi-colored tattoos. Evans at times looked unstoppable going to the hoop, and at other times seemed in love with a jump shot that isn’t quite ready to shine. As for Cousins, I love his game, hate his demeanor. There’s something about his whiny face that reminds me of Antoine Walker, at Antoine Walker’s immature worst. Still, Cousins is a competitor. You have to respect a young kid who won’t back down from Kevin Garnett.

But challenging Garnett so overtly isn’t always smart. With this Celtics crew, all it takes is a tiny spark.

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 Morning Walkthrough is a set of links to Boston Celtics articles throughout the internet, designed to get your day started the right way.

When you don't have anything nice to say, say nothing at all.

Julian Benbow, Boston Globe – “Coach Doc Rivers said he didn’t know whether O’Neal would ultimately require surgery. ‘I’m concerned,’ Rivers said. ‘I think he’s gone two weeks and a practice and his knee swells up. First of all, it has to be extremely frustrating for him. He worked his butt off to get back and he was playing well. Secondly, we all have common sense. That’s a concern, ‘Why is this happening?’ And so we have to figure that out.’ Having shut down O’Neal once already, Rivers didn’t seem as though he wanted to do it again. ‘We’ve done that and we thought we were good, and it happened again,’ Rivers said. ‘I don’t know. I don’t have any answers. I just know this has to be frustrating.’”

Paul Flannery, WEEI – “For better or worse, the Celtics need Jermaine O’Neal to be functioning this spring. If his knee injury is going to be a constant concern, then that is a very big deal for the Celtics because they still don’t know what Kendrick Perkins will be able to give them when he comes back and Shaquille O’Neal’s play has tapered off dramatically since late December. Rivers had a plan for the O’Neals, but it has already been blown up and modified as the injuries have mounted and lingered. ‘We had a strategy going into the year with Jermaine and Shaq, but we didn’t account for the other guys going down,’ Rivers said. ‘That’s where it kind of got a little dicey and still is.’ The Celtics need three centers for the playoffs and for the time being they have two. Both of whom, it should be pointed out, have their own injuries. That’s their biggest concern right now. Not Garnett.”

Mark Murphy, Boston Herald – “There’s a good chance, according to Rivers, that Kevin Garnett may not see action until Monday, when the Orlando Magic visit. Though Garnett has required more time than expected to recover from a strained right calf, Rivers insisted that unlike the forward’s knee trouble two years ago, there is not more to this than the team is letting on. ‘It’s no conspiracy,’ Rivers said. ‘He’s just taking a little longer than we wanted him to. No one has told me to worry about it. (Trainer) Eddie (Lacerte) has been really nonchalant about (whether this is going to be) a season-long injury problem. He’s dealing with it like Kevin. But with Kevin, he’s so emotional that you want to make sure he doesn’t get down about stuff. That’s where I’m always concerned with him — starting this why-is-this- happening-to-me stuff, you don’t want him to go there. It’s not a bad injury, but he doesn’t like missing games. I think his goal was to play all 82. The fact that isn’t going to happen (ticks) him off. It’s just who he is. That’s a good thing in the long run.”

Julian Benbow, Boston Globe – “‘We didn’t come out with the same energy [Monday] as we did tonight,’ said Marquis Daniels, who scored 12 points off the bench. ‘We’ve just got to find a way to do it every night regardless of who we’re playing. We’ve just got to come in, get back in transition, and rebound the basketball. We’ve been getting killed on the boards, so that’s something we’ve got to focus on. It’s always another notch we can go to. We’ve just got to pick each other up, regardless of if it’s the starters or the second string. We’ve just got to be tuned in and play a full 48-minute game. … Rivers needed to see his players respond to his call for more energy, and they did. ‘We just wanted to put pressure on them, making sure that we were the instigators,’ Davis said. ‘It means a lot. It helps the team out in so many ways just to do things harder. It helps on the offense and defensive side. It sets a standard. That’s what we need to do.’”

Mark Murphy, Boston Herald – “‘I thought we played well in the first half in two ways. I thought we had an amazing pace with Rondo and Nate,’ coach Doc Rivers said. ‘We were pushing the ball up the floor. We missed I don’t know how many point-blank layups and open shots. So I told them, don’t worry about the offense.’ The defense, without Garnett, is a going concern, as evidenced by Sacramento’s ability to shoot 51.4 percent, including a marauding paint performance by power forward Carl Landry, who scored seven of his 17 points from the line. But the bench ultimately made it possible for the starters to take a fourth-quarter seat. After the recent grind of seven games in 10 days, the break was badly needed. ‘I saw Paul icing early, Ray (Allen) is icing early, Rondo,’ said Daniels. ‘It’s always a good thing to see those guys icing early. We are going to need those guys down the line.’”

A. Sherrod Blakely, CSNNE – “Boston’s strong performance was fueled by Pierce’s ability to make the most of his matchup with Sacramento’s Franciso Garcia. Celtics coach Doc Rivers attributes Pierce’s strong play, as well as the solid performance by the entire Celtics roster, to a spirited practice on Tuesday. ‘[Tuesday] in practice after showing them the film, we practiced hard,’ Rivers said. ‘And the cuts were hard. And you could see it. And you were just hoping there would be a carryover today and there was.’”

Chris Forsberg, ESPN Boston – “What does Rivers miss most about Garnett when he’s not on the floor? His ability to quarterback the defense. ‘You can get somebody to provide energy — Luke [Harangody] plays with a lot of energy. What we miss is his voice. Kevin is the best talker on defense in the NBA, maybe in the history of the NBA. It doesn’t matter what you do. Watching our transition defense the last two games, and how awful we were, it’s clear what was missing — that guy running down the middle of the floor pointing at everyone to ‘Get over there,’ or ‘Go over there.’ We just don’t have a guy like that and you can’t replace that.’”

Frank Dell’Apa, Boston Globe – “The bench was able to stay in control in the final quarter, allowing the starters to rest. ‘They tease us about that all the time,’ Robinson said. ‘They tease the bench. They say, come on now, we don’t want to play the rest of the fourth, so we can get a little bit of rest. The bench, we try to go in every night and bring energy and play hard, take some of the slack off the starting five, because they do a tremendous job every night. The bench, we’ve got to be there, not just [last night] but every night. I think that if we continue to do that I think we’ll be a hell of a team.’”

A. Sherrod Blakely, CSNNE – “More than the points, it was Erden’s energy that Celtics coach Doc Rivers was pleased with seeing. ‘He was great,’ Rivers said. ‘You know, we needed his energy.’ But as Erden’s minutes played steadily increased – he played 33 minutes on Wednesday after playing just 31 in the previous 12 games combined – it was clear that he was, well, how did Doc put it? . . . ‘He ran out of gas,’ Rivers said. ‘There’s no doubt about that.’ But you won’t find Rivers complaining about his contributions, especially with the uncertain status of O’Neal who continues to have left knee issues. Rivers said the knee had swollen up earlier in the day, but he did not know until about an hour before tip-off that O’Neal could not play. ‘[Erden] was ready, which is the most important thing, and the other thing – it’s tough for him, because he didn’t know [he would play],’ Rivers said. ‘Hell, I didn’t know. So it’s a good job by him, especially a young player. Because most young players, they would think, ‘I’m not playing today’ and not come with the right mental approach.’”

Chris Forsberg, ESPN Boston – “That’s exactly what Rivers wanted to see from his rookie — the 60th and final pick in the 2008 draft — and said as much before the game. ‘Energy,’ Rivers answered when asked what Erden’s game had lacked thus far. ‘He’s a good player, a young player. What he’s learning from us is that there’s a level of intensity that you have to play with on every possession, every night. He’s going to make mistakes, I don’t care about when young guys make mistakes. I care more about focus.’”

Got a tip? An article you think should be included? Send an email to jayking@celticstown.com or hit me up on Twitter @CelticsTown.

The Sacramento Kings, to put it bluntly, suck.

Their eight wins match Cleveland for the league’s lowest total. They are 6-15 at home (which is no good), and 2-12 on the road (which is even worse). Tyreke Evans’ regression perplexes, DeMarcus Cousins has proven just as wild as advertised (and his 43.2% shooting is far worse than expected), and Beno Udrih remains capable of either greatness or utter disappearances.

Oh, well. At least the young Omri Casspi’s improvement provides hope. Wait, his numbers have also decreased all the way across the board? Ahh.

These Sacramento Kings are an organization filled with dysfunction, a real-life Bluth family. (If I took the Arrested Development comparison any further, I’d say Beno Udrih is Buster Bluth.)

Fortunately for the Celtics, these Kings come to town at a perfect time. The C’s just completed their season’s worst effort, an effort Doc Rivers actually called the team’s worst in three or four years. They are again struggling through the annual January swoon, and the lowly Kings should provide perfect medicine.

Either that, or they’ll provide yet another lesson that this Celtics team can turn its switch off very quickly.

A win, please, Celts. That’s all I ask. And, preferably, a little effort.

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.