Sacramento Kings All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins blasted his team’s effort after a blowout loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday, saying his teammates needs to “man up” and have “self-respect.”
The Kings shot 36 percent against Dallas, missed 18 of their 21 three-point attempts and turned the ball over 17 times in the 101-78 loss.
Mike Malone obviously wasn’t the problem, as the Kings have lost 10 of their last 11 games and six straight at home.
“It’s about having self-respect, it’s about having pride. And taking your job seriously,” Cousins said. “Coming in every night ready to play, regardless of the circumstances.”
“Just man-up and play. Just play hard,” Cousins said. “If we play hard and get our brains beat in, I’m fine with that. But just to come out and lay down like we did tonight, it’s unacceptable.”
Cousins was selected to his first All-Star Game last week and is averaging 23.7 points, 12.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists this season.
