Remember Cousins is 19 - there is a process

Kings fans are crazy.

That seems to be a statement out of the blue. It is not.

After covering this team daily for about 13 or 14 years for the Sacramento Bee newspaper through the worst and the best of times, I thought I knew how crazy Kings fans were.

However, I didn't.

Actually, I didn't even have a clue.

And since I've come to recognize a truer level of insanity that drives Kings fans, it's important to continue to bring doses of reality to those who follow this squad.

That's where Friday evening's Vegas Summer League performance by DeMarcus Cousins becomes applicable.

I know Kings fans come in all sizes and ages. Over the years, I've met Kings fans in many places.

Supermarkets, schools, churches (and I rarely, I mean, rarely attend) and liquor stores in other states. I've met you guys and ladies on planes and answering the door at my house.

I've met Kings fans on Maui and in Tokyo. So I thought I had a decent fix on Kings fans. Wednesday, I found out differently.

Recently, I've become aware of websites called SactownRoyalty.com and CowbellKingdom.com. They are virtual hangout for Kings fans to chat, inform and become informed for many things Kings.

I used to receive goo-gobs of e-mails at the Bee when covering the Kings and I tried to reply to as many as I could.

In addition to merely replying because folks had cared enough to take the time to get with me, I found reading the e-mails provided story ideas of which I'd never have imagined.

So, Wednesday, I ended up on Sactown Royalty after Wednesday's Kings summer-league game. Beyond my amazement, it seems as if more than 1,000 comments came into the site during the game.

One thousand comments during a freaking summer-league game as the fever of Kings fans about Cousins and Hasaan Whiteside and Tyreke Evans intensifies daily. Incredible!

I'm unsure how one can fully concentrate on watching a basketball game on TV and chat online, but clearly it can be done.

But back to the matter of The Big Potential; aka the Big Po'; aka the Big Sweetness - Cousins had set the Vegas Summer League on its butt during Sacramento's first three games.

Cousins' assortment of skills and talents are ridiculous. He's got tremendous court vision; varied passing deliveries; a feathery soft shooting touch and deft footwork. Combine that big booty and those broad shoulders with huge, strong hands and Cousins, who turns 20 August 13, often makes this NBA stuff appear so easy.

Yet, what Cousins doesn't have - experience - is a process that cannot be accelerated. Neither Bill Russell nor Wilt Chamberlain could accelerate it. That goes for Nate Thurmond, Willis Reed and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

So Friday evening's zero-for-10 first half against the Toronto Raptors was part of the process. It was a lesson in humility that came precisely at the necessary time for Cousins and his new legion of followers.

Cousins probably had a little bit of the big-head syndrome after his early domination of the VSL and needed a little bit of a reality check.

To me, it's akin to understanding, in part, why LeBron James keeps the big head. With more than half the world jocking his mercurial talents, it would be more surprising if he didn't believe all the hype that has come his way.

Cousins struggled against Toronto and he'll struggle again and again. That's what sports and life are about.

We all have bad days. Some of us have bad weeks, months and years, but it's our abilities to shake off those struggles that test our resolve.

Cousins took a major - and necessary - step in the second half against Toronto when he went five for eight.

Moreover, he got his first professional triple-double - points, rebounds and fouls.

One more point. Trainer David Thorpe recently was critical of Cousins' willingness to respond verbally to opponents conversations.

I don't know where Thorpe grew up hooping, but talking and handling talking is part of the game. I wonder if Thorpe was critical of Boston great Larry Bird responding to verbiage that came his way.

Some people talk trash while playing the game. Some don't. People use various ways to deal with it, but part of the process is learning which method is most effective. Cousins must learn which is best for him.

Kings fans, enjoy the process. Preliminary indications are it will be special.

The Lakers in Six, maybe Seven

I'm not really into predictions, but what the heck? It's a freebie.

And unlike ridiculous pre-season predictions, looking at two teams two days before the best-of-seven 2010 NBA Finals begin is more realistic. So, it says here the Los Angeles Lakers will go back-to-back with a six or seven-game victory over the Boston Celtics.

The reason: too much Kobe Bryant. To me, it's that simple. However, if the Lakers slip, they easily can be defeated. It wouldn't shock to see Boston coach Doc Rivers and his staff throw some zone at the Lakers.

If L.A. doesn't handle it better, i.e. making perimeter shots, than it did against Phoenix, it's going to be trouble.

It's easy to appreciate the merits of the Celtics and Lakers.

As a New York City native, merely thinking about the appreciation of anything Boston means there has been major personal growth.

New Yorkers are inherently trained to hate Boston and its sports franchises. And that goes both ways.

As I write this today, alleged Boston native Joey Rust, harasses me via text and cell phone with his profane chant about the Yankees, Mets, Giants and Jets. Rust loves all things Boston and happened to be in my house during Game Three of the 2004 American League Championship Series.

Rust, in a nothing-to-lose prediction, said the Red Sox would come back from that 3-0 deficit to win four straight. They did, and Rust always will have that one to throw at myself and son, Phillip.

In fact, my son said Rust harassed him a few days ago on Facebook about New York sports teams. My son probably would use the word - random.

But it's like that. I understand. Phillip understands (well, maybe not the profanity). But hey, I'll be rooting for the Boston Bruins to win the Stanley Cup. Oops! And oh, yeah, Rust's daughters, Kiele and Gracei, correctly the Giants 2008 Super Bowl victory over the previously undefeated New England Patriots.

My dislike of Boston hardly was aided by seeing adults throwing rocks at black children during busing.

However, meeting two beautiful ladies, Evey and Lola, from Newton, Mass. (I believe) while at Hampton Institute (now University), opened my perspective.

Ditto for meeting my man, coach Willie Maye, the adjunct mayor of Beantown. Maye, originally from North Carolina, a Boston radio personality can be seen representing the Celtics wearing a Boston jersey.

I still love the guy. Hey, he was on the court with me in Portland in 1992 when I tore my Achilles tendon and took care of a brother. Maye could hail from Anchorage and he'd be special.

Nor did it help to see the Celtics wax the New York Knicks like the kitchen floor. The Celtics were so dominant during the early 60's that they were hated in Philadelphia and Baltimore/Washington D.C.

Ironically, black americans viewed the Celtics as white america's team. That's despite Bill Russell's status as modern times first black coach in pro team sports. That's despite the presence of Sam and K.C. Jones and Tom 'Satch' Sanders as well as Russell playing integral roles in Boston's success.

For me as a young fan, hating Boston teams was a learned behavior. I always liked Sam Jones because no one used (or since has used) the glass like him.

On the low-low, in 1967 I rooted for Carl Yastrzemski's Red Sox squad that lost in seven games to the St. Louis Cardinals. Why? I still held it against Bob Gibson and the Cardinals for beating my Yankees in 1964.

Just like I rooted for Detroit in the 1968 World Series against the Cardinals. I still have an affinity for Mickey Stanley, Mickey Lolich, Denny McLain, Dick McAuliffe and Willie Horton. Man, while checking out Baseball-Reference.com, I just found out Milwaukee slugging third baseman Eddie Mathews was on that squad.

Yeah, it's stupid stuff I did as a fan that helps me to understand the misguided thought processes of fans now. Like I said earlier, it's free.

Something non-sports fans can't comprehend is the freedom to root for whomever you darned well choose. I have friends from New York who still root for the Oakland/L.A./Oakland Raiders no matter how badly they stink.

Old habits are hard to break - not impossible - but definitely difficult.

Bunts, blocks and screens

Colorado's 26-year-old Ubaldo Jimenez has an 0.78 Earned Run Average through 11 starts (10-1). His stuff reminds of a young (pre-drug) Dwight (Doc) Gooden. Jimenez has a 96-to-100 mph fastball, drop-off-the table curveball, a dive-bomb splitter and what, an 88-mile per hour changeup. ... In the you-never-know category, Toronto's Jose Bautista will turn 30 in October and was the 599th pick (20th round) in the 2000 draft. He played for Baltimore, Kansas City and Pittsburgh before joining the Blue Jays for the 2009 season. Bautista leads the majors with 16 homers. ... Washington's Livan Hernandez, 35, is still productively pitching. You think rookie Steve Strasburg can learn from talking to this veteran. ... Who the heck came up with the stupid, 'voluntary organized team activity?' The NFL Players Association needs to eradicate this practice in its next collective bargaining agreement. If not, then change the freak'n name to mandatory OTA.

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Who you like in the NBA Finals and in how many games?

Those who correctly predict will win win nathan, nada, not a thing.

Hey, we are honest.

Kobe Bean Bryant: Moving toward becoming the best?

After hearing about Kobe Bryant for 10 or so years, I met the kid in September 1996, less than a month before his first NBA training camp with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Kershaw Leatherbury, a heck of an athlete who'd played at Philadelphia's legendary Overbrook High, was a former college roommate. Leatherbury also had a nice handle and ridiculous range, in addition to batting cleanup behind major-league outfielder Jeffrey (Hac Man) Leonard.

Through that Philly connection, I'd met Kobe's pops, Joe (Jelly Bean) Bryant and former USF point guard Chubby Cox and had a hookup to write a story with Source Magazine.

Leatherbury, since Kobe was about seven or eight, was saying Kobe Bean was a prodigy and appeared headed on a direct course to the NBA. Leatherbury and J.B. were right about the kid who spent much of his youth playing soccer in Europe.

Bryant, then 18, was living (or was it vice versa) with his pops and moms (Pam) and his sister in a cul-de-sac at the top of hill in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles. Even at 18, Bryant clearly was advanced in terms of basketball vision.

A maturity, heavily influenced by the guidance of moms and pops, already was in full force. In retrospect, one wonders if Bryant truly believed at that time he could become as good as he is now. Athletically, Bryant's life has been an unfinished dream.

Should he lead the Los Angeles Lakers to another NBA title this June over the Boston Celtics, he unquestionably will be the player of the decade. That means he'd have played an integral role in five titles beginning in 2000 and he'll be 32 on August 23.

Since many observers judge greatness in terms of championships won, Bryant is approaching hallowed ground.

That's one short of the six won by his idol, Michael Jordan. And make no mistake, Bryant has patterned much of his career and playing style after Jordan. Bryant walked, talked and dunked like Jordan. Former teammates say Bryant used to watch tapes of Air Jordan incessantly at the Forum before the Lakers moved to the Staples Center.

As a society, we've seemed to kick Bill Russell and his 11 championships to the curb as if they don't exist. Perhaps it's because Russell was a big man and didn't dominate offensively.

But the title of greatest ever has been awarded to Jordan and it's almost universally acknowledged despite the achievements of Wilt Chamberlain and Oscar Robertson, two name just two.

Comparing Jordan and Bryant is a bit premature. Jordan already has his titles, while Bryant remains a work in progress. Jordan retired the first time from basketball in 1993 to try baseball. Jordan dealt with tales about his gambling and the murder of his father.

Meanwhile, Bryant was accused of sexual assault in the summer of 2004. During questioning with the police, he made derogatory comments regarding then teammate Shaquille O'Neal, when the center's name never should have come out of his mouth.

That was Bryant's weakest moment. However, as I've said many times, I've never been questioned by police, much less for sexual assault of a white woman. Honestly, I can't say whose name might have come from my mouth. Spanky? Alfalfa?, Curly Jo, who the heck knows.

However, Bryant has kept his nose clean, remained married, recovered from the knee surgery for which he was in Eagle, Colo. (the scene of the assault). And now Kobe Bean has a chance to do something to make himself more special than he already has become.

Winning a fifth would tie him with Magic Johnson. That achievement is pretty darned good on its own merit.

Only four franchises - the Lakers, Celtics, Chicago Bulls and San Antonio Spurs - have won more than three.

Every player with more than seven played with Boston - Sam Jones (10); John Havlicek, Tommy Heinsohn, K.C. Jones and Tom 'Satch' Sanders, all with eight.

According to NBAUniverse.com, three players - Robert Horry, Frank Ramsey and Jim Loscutoff - won seven rings. Horry was the only player to do it with three teams.

With six are Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Scottie Pippen and Bob Cousy.

Bryant's heroics almost are becoming joke-like, said Phoenix coach Alvin Gentry. It's no longer news when Bryant dominates down the stretch. The news comes when he doesn't.

Certainly, the defensively-minded Celtics propose a different threat. Yet, in Bryant's mind, having defeated the Lakers in 2008, the C's are a challenge. Bryant, like Jordan, feeds off challenges - like winning championships.

Still working out the bugs, but here goes:

Using your own criteria, who is the NBA's greatest player?

All Elie has done is win

Sacramento Kings assistant coach Mario Elie's name is not among the leaders in the clubhouse when it comes to NBA coaching candidates.

But it should be right there.

Elie can bring three rings to any potential interview with a team trying to win a title. Elie played an integral role in Houston winning two rings and one more in San Antonio. So he's seen how it's done and then helped do it.

Elie was an 11-year NBA player after being drafted in the seventh round (the 160th overall pick) by the Milwaukee Bucks out of American International College - a Division II school in Springfield, Mass. He played in Portugal, Argentina, Ireland as well as the USBL, WBL and the CBA before a 10-day contract with Philadelphia in 1990 led to deals with Portland, Houston, San Antonio and Phoenix.

He speaks Spanish, Portuguese and French and has been an assistant under San Antonio's Gregg Popovich and Dallas' Avery Johnson and Rick Carlisle.

Elie never has been a head coach, but he's had every other experience one can bring to the table.

What he also brings leadership, toughness and the respect of players - qualities that are irreplaceable for a successful coach.

It'll take a strong, independently-thinking general manager to hire Elie, especially for a team with legitimate title aspirations, with nay-sayers ready to pounce.

The good thing for Elie is hasn't had to take a job with a bad team. The bad thing is he's not even spoken about as being a candidate. He has interviewed with Charlotte and Sacramento.

However, at some point, a team will show the intelligence and the stones to recognize Elie is a hidden gem waiting to be plucked.

Some one had to give Popovich, Byron Scott, Carlisle and Johnson, among many others, a chance to be a head coach. Many of the league's head coaches had never run the show before getting their NBA shot.

It's time for front-office intelligence to take over. However, now we'll see how long that takes to occur.

By the way, Utah's assistant Tyrone Corbin and Houston's assistant Elston Turner also fit smoothly into this category.

As an aside, after watching Mike Brown get jettisoned in Cleveland Sunday after back-to-back 60-win seasons, there are more secure gigs to be sought, for sure.

NBA Finals matchup

If the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics meet in the NBA championship series, the Lakers will go from dominating the questionable defense of the Phoenix Suns to the superior defense of the Celtics.

There may not be a bigger gap in the playoffs than going from the Suns defense to the Celtics'.

Yo, LeBron, Wake Up!

Derryl Zimmerman, one of my former roommates, of which there have been many, makes this salient point.

LeBron James said next season he was changing his number from 23 to 6 out of respect for Michael Jordan, the almost universally acknowledged 'greatest player' ever.

So James picked No. 6 - the same number worn by Bill Russell, the greatest winner, perhaps in the history of professional sports.

History, my brother, history.

Seven lost teeth

Chicago Black Hawks defenseman Duncan Keith lost an amazing seven teeth Sunday against the San Jose Sharks when he was struck in the mouth by a puck.

Keith returned later in the game to play more minutes than anyone on either team.

That kind of gives a description of 'toughness' new meaning, doesn't it?

And I wasn't thinking, crazy, nutty or insane, though those also came quickly to mind.