be in position to lead this team deep into the Stanley Cup

The Sacramento Kings (2-3) go as their sometimes moody All-Star center goes.In the span of a week, DeMarcus Cousins has picked up the first of what will surely be many technical fouls, has gotten fined for throwing his mouthpiece halfway into the stands at Sacramentos Golden 1 Center and walking into the bleachers to retrieve it and, probably most damaging to his team, picked up six fouls in the fourth quarter of Sacramentos overtime loss to the Miami Heat on Tuesday, sitting out the final five minutes of the 108-96 loss.Cousins can produce. Even in defeat and without the overtime, Cousins scored 30 points, putting shot blocker Hassan Whiteside on his heels and in foul trouble on his way to 18 free throw attempts. He is averaging 26.8 points per game and 9.6 rebounds per game.For all of Cousins gaudy statistics, his emotions still get the best of him at times. And the Sacramento Kings suffer for their star players still inconsistent demeanor.For the Kings to take the next step after their first 30-win season since 2008 last year, Cousins is going to have to carry the load on his broad shoulders.It is why incidents like the Saturdays mouthpiece toss and Tuesdays fouling out in all of 12 minutes seem to hurt his team even more these days.Cousins is too important to be on the sideline.The Kings are 4.6 points per 100 possessions better with Cousins on the floor than their opponents, according to NBA.coms stats database. They score a team-best 109.9 points per 100 possessions with Cousins on the floor. Their season average is 100.9.His over aggression and physicality can sometimes cost him -- he committed three offensive fouls in the fourth quarter including the dubious push off with 30 seconds that left him out for the overtime.But Cousins is the offensive player everyone has to prepare for and focus on.Hes a very good player, Orlando Magic center Nikola Vucevic said Wednesday. Probably the best big man we have in the NBA right now. Hes very dominant. Playing really great for the past few seasons. Obviously a big load down there. Well have to do our best to limit him as best we can.Vucevic will draw the primary responsibility on Cousins when the Magic (1-3) take on the Kings at the Amway Center in Orlando on Thursday. Serge Ibaka and Bismack Biyombo will surely get their turns too.The Magics front court combination has not quite delivered results for them. The teams summer transformation was supposed to bring with it a stronger interior defense. So far, the Magic are giving up 106.6 points per 100 possessions, sixth worst in the NBA.Orlando scraped out its first win of the season Tuesday night against the Philadelphia 76ers, leading for less than 25 seconds in a 103-101 win after Ibaka hit a pair of free throws with one second left.The Magic now face a tougher task dealing with Cousins.The question as always when the Kings roll into town is which Cousins will they and their opponents get? Is it the one that is a focused, dominant low post scorer that sucks up energy and frees up shooters? Or is it the one that loses his cool and costs his team in important moments?The Kings go as their All Star DeMarcus Cousins goes so far this season. Cheap Air Max Tn . -- Arizona knocked off some quality opponents, rolled over a few overmatched ones and grinded out victories even when things didnt go so well. 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Young formally announced his retirement Friday after returning to Rangers Ballpark, his baseball home for all but the last of his 13 major league seasons. What happened over the weekend that you need to know about? Joe McDonald gives us his take on the biggest and best performances. This is where we say, Morning, Joe.Halak still rolling: After watching goaltender Jaroslav Halaks success for Team Europe during the World Cup of Hockey last month in Toronto, I wondered how it would translate to start the regular season for the New York Islanders. After all, he was coming off a groin injury suffered on March 8 that caused him to miss the remainder of last season, including the playoffs. In his absence, Thomas Greiss manned the net and played well. Halak had surgery during the offseason to repair a sports hernia and was 100 percent healthy for the World Cup. After leading Europe to the finals against Canada, Halak opened the 2016-17 season with 34 saves in a 5-3 loss to the New York Rangers last Thursday at Madison Square Garden, and followed that up with a 24-save performance to help the Islanders to a 3-2 overtime win against the Anaheim Ducks at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Sunday. In order for the Islanders to return to the postseason again next spring, Halak, 31, will need to earn every bit of his $4.75 million this season.Laviolette has Preds clicking: The Nashville Predators posted a 1-1 record during their home-and-home series with the Chicago Blackhawks this weekend. I picked the Predators to win the Central Division this season and reach the Stanley Cup finals before losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Sure, its only two games, but the Predators put in a good showing against the Blackhawks. Ive always believed that the Predators Peter Laviolette was the type of coach who could be successful in small spurts with teams. Yes, he won a Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006, and reached the finals with the Philadelphia Flyers in 2010, but I questioned what type of job he would do during the long term with the Predators after the team hired him before the 2014-15 season.dddddddddddd Hes had two successful seasons in Nashville, and after the team signed him to a contract extension before this season, it appears he could be in position to lead this team deep into the Stanley Cup playoffs. As for the Blackhawks, winger Richard Panik, 25, scored his first career NHL hat trick en route to a 5-3 win against the Predators on Saturday at United Center. Panik, who has been playing on the top line centered by Jonathan Toews, has four goals and one assist for five points in the first three games.McDavid on heavy pace: On Friday, the second game of the home-and-home series between the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames proved to be another strong statistical night for the Oilers Connor McDavid. He had a goal and two assists for a two-game total of six points to start the season. If McDavid keeps this up, he could be tough to beat for the overall scoring race. He registered 48 points in 44 games during his injury-plagued rookie season, and if he can remain healthy, itll be interesting to see if he can produce more than a point a game during a full 82-game season. That type of success for a 19-year-old seems daunting in this league, but we are talking about a generational player. His impressive pace took a hit, though, when he was held without a point and was minus-1 in Sundays 6-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres. ' ' '