With just under a minute left in Wednesday night's ridiculous 100-98 victory over Memphis, DeMarcus Cousins decided to gather his teammates together for a little huddle.
It was a small gesture in the scheme of things, but it struck me as a turning point.
Here was the NBA's rookie bad boy, explosively unhinged, a player benched because of immaturity - yet he was gathering his teammates to offer something the team so obviously lacks.
A dose of swagger.
Now Cousins is all about swagger. Usually misguided swagger. A selfish swagger. But this was different. This was Cousins feeling the swagger and wanting it to be a part of something bigger.
It's strange. Just from watching, you knew. From that moment, the Kings would win the game.
The players on the bench were energized. The crowd was electric. And suddenly there was confidence.
Even O.J. Mayo's impossible basket with 2 seconds left wasn't going to change the outcome.
What does it all mean?
Who the hell knows.
Tyreke Evans' 50-foot prayer with 1/10th of a second to play could be just the medicine to heal the deep, dark wounds this team has suffered.
And maybe not.
Maybe it was just a blip.
Maybe it all means nothing.
But I'm not sure. Swagger is the ultimate commodity in basketball. Once you get it, you learn to love it. And then you learn to love winning.
For one night, the players tasted the rare sweetness of a righteous win.
Let's see where it goes.
No comments:
Post a Comment