In first game back against old team, Cousins sees progress in young Kings

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Trial by fire. The Sacramento Kings have used a cautious approach to bringing along their young bigs, but that all ended Friday night in the team’s 117-89 loss in New Orleans. 

With Anthony Tolliver and Kosta Koufos both sitting for “planned rest,” Skal Labissiere and Willie Cauley-Stein started against All-Stars DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis, and rookie Georgios Papagiannis saw major playing time. 

“It’s only going to make them get better,” veteran point guard Darren Collison told reporters following the game. “I think it’s a good test for them. A couple of games ago, they played against Blake (Griffin) and DeAndre (Jordan), this game, Cuz and AD. Playing against these talented bigs is only going to get them better.”

The Pelicans featured Cousins in his first game against his former team. The three-time All-Star dropped a game-high 37 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in the win. Following the game, he was nothing but complimentary about the trio of young bigs the Kings threw at him.

“I’ve been keeping up with my young guys,” Cousins told NBC California’s Kayte Christensen during post game. “I see their progress. They’re taking their games to another level. They’re all workhorses, so I know it will eventually come.”

Cousins showed his entire arsenal against Sacramento, knocking down 5-of-8 from 3-point range and doing major damage in the post. He powered through the Kings' young players on more than one occasion and he had Papagiannis on skates for much of the night.

Papagiannis managed to score 11 points and grab three rebounds in 24 minutes of action. He even had a block on Cousins, which brought a smile to the 19-year-old 7-footer's face. 

Labissiere shot just 5-of-16 from the field, but he was aggressive and looked up for the challenge. He finished the night with 13 points, eight rebounds and a block in 36 minutes.

“I did okay, I could have done better,” Labissiere told reporters. “It’s all about experiences and that was a good experience for me tonight going up against those guys. I definitely think I can play against them and compete. Just learn from it and move on. I have a lot to work on.”

If there was one major takeaway for the smooth shooting power forward, it was that his body needs work to compete with the stars of the league. 

“I definitely need to hit the weight room harder this summer,” Labissiere said. “It’s all going to come. I’m not worried about it.”

Cauley-Stein had an impressive night starting at the center position for Sacramento. Since Cousins’ departure, the second-year big has been asked to do more. He scored 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting against his former mentor, but he hit the glass hard, coming away with a game-high 14 rebounds. 

Since the All-Star break, Cauley-Stein is posting 12.3 points and 7.5 rebounds per game and over his last four games, the 7-footer is averaging 11.3 rebounds per game.

In his first game back in New Orleans since being traded, rookie Buddy Hield added 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds. Ben McLemore added 15 points as the Kings fell to 29-47 on the season.

The Kings return to the court Saturday night and it doesn’t get much easier. Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins and the Minnesota Timberwolves will host Sacramento on the second night of a back-to-back. Expect big minutes for the young guys once again as the Kings finish out the final six games of the 2016-17 season.

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