SACRAMENTO, Calif. - DeMarcus Cousins has the statistics. He has the stature. And he has the support of several high-profile peers calling for him to get his first All-Star nod.What he doesnt have is a winning team.Just about everybody around the NBA agrees that the Sacramento Kings franchise centre has blossomed into one of the leagues best big men. Based on ballot returns the past few years, though, many still dont believe hes done enough with the Kings to earn All-Star status in the deep Western Conference.Fans left Cousins out of the mix again when the starters were announced last week. The reserves, voted on by the coaches, will be revealed Thursday night, and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver will select any injury replacements before the marquee game at New Yorks Madison Square Garden on Feb. 15.Count Cousins among those wondering if he finally has the right resume — and reputation — in his fifth season to trump Sacramentos shortcomings.To be totally honest, it is what it is, Cousins said. If I make it, I make it. If I dont, I dont.Coaches must vote for three frontcourt players, two guards and two wild cards. Cousins main competition in the frontcourt is Portlands LaMarcus Aldridge, Oklahoma Citys Kevin Durant, San Antonios Tim Duncan, Dallas Dirk Nowitzki and Houstons Dwight Howard.The biggest thing hurting Cousins campaign — besides the competition — is his teams worsening record.After starting 9-5 this season, the Kings (16-27) have collapsed since Cousins came down with viral meningitis in late November. They went 2-8 during his sick leave — which coincided with Michael Malones stunning firing as coach — and have failed to pick up the pieces under short-term replacement Tyrone Corbin.Coaches are not allowed to vote for their own players, but Corbin believes Cousins shouldnt be penalized because of all the chaos around him.Its the All-Star game. Its about individual performances, Corbin said. You look at (team records) sometimes, but I think most cases on the All-Star performance they look at the guy and his numbers and what hes doing for this year. Hes certainly having a great year where we havent won the number of games that we would like to win.Cousins began to repair his volatile image when he helped Team USA win gold at the FIBA World Cup in Spain over the summer, and his game has continued to rise during another disappointing season in Californias capital city.He entered Wednesday averaging career highs of 24.2 points, 12.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.6 blocks per game, staggering statistics by most traditional metrics. He was also eighth in the NBA in player efficiency rating at 25.78.Perhaps most importantly, his emotional and often unpredictable behaviour has improved — at least by his standards. After compiling a league-most 33 technical fouls the last two years, Cousins has just four this season.You can tell theres been a lot of growing on his side as a player, Bulls centre Joakim Noah said. He is playing more efficiently. I feel sometimes he gets frustrated and that works in our favour. I feel this year hes the one getting guys frustrated and its worked for them.Clippers coach Doc Rivers said hes noticed a difference, too.Hes grown up emotionally, Rivers said. His game has grown up. I think hes the best low-post player in the league, and hes doing it every night. Hes doing more than just scoring. Hes doing everything. Im just very proud of him.Rivers later said Cousins is an All-Star in his mind, and so have most coaches this season. Of course, many have said such things publicly in the past.How they vote will be the true test of their resolve.Golden States Steve Kerr, who is coaching the Western Conference in the All-Star game, said most coaches will side with the player on the better team when making a close call. The same reasoning is why Kerr is confident Klay Thompson will join Stephen Curry on the West team and represent the NBA-leading Warriors (36-7).Asked specifically about Cousins, Kerr said hes one of the few players in the league that his staff centres its game plan around. But he stopped short of saying whether hed select Cousins on the crowded ballot.There is no doubt that he is an All-Star-calibre player, but its musical chairs in the West, Kerr said. There are only so many spots. I dont know how it will play out.___Antonio Gonzalez can be reached at: www.twitter.com/agonzalezAP Denzel Ward Jersey . -- Adrian Peterson takes a look around the league and sees big money flying everywhere. Custom Browns Jerseys . But Josh Bailey scored the shootout winner to lead the Islanders to a 3-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens in a battle of the Eastern Conferences two worst teams. http://www.brownsauthenticproshop.com/Yo...-Browns-Jersey/. Patrice Bergeron and Daniel Paille scored 20 seconds apart a few minutes after Stamkos was taken off the ice on a stretcher with a broken right leg, and the Bruins beat the Lightning 3-0 on Monday afternoon. T. J. Carrie Jersey . They never thought it would take some blood, too. Kevin Love grabbed his 4,000th career rebound as part of a 19-point, 13-board effort to lead the Timberwolves over the Utah Jazz 112-97 on Tuesday night. E.J. Gaines Browns Jersey . He will play 10th-seeded Feliciano Lopez in Sundays final, after the Spanish left-hander defeated Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic 7-6 (7), 6-4.LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Any jitters Terry Rozier had in his first career start werent apparent as he quickly made two 3-pointers that helped set an offensive tone for Louisville. Chris Jones followed Roziers lead by sinking a few more from long range while contributing to the kind of defensive performance coach Rick Pitino wanted. Nothing like a shakeup to make things happen. Jones came off the bench to score 18 points, including four 3-pointers, and the No. 9 Cardinals bounced back from their first loss to roll past Southern Mississippi 69-38 Friday night. Five days after a lacklustre effort in a 93-84 loss to North Carolina, the Cardinals (6-1) were better on both ends with the help of two new starters. Freshman guard Rozier got things going offensively by making his first three from beyond the arc en route to nine points, while 6-foot-10 redshirt freshman centre Mangok Mathiang had seven rebounds and three blocks. "For a freshman to get a start, it builds my confidence up," said Rozier, who added three assists in 19 minutes. Added Jones, "Im happy for him. He deserved it." Jones made 4 of 7 from long range and 5 of 10 overall. Louisville shot 23 of 55 (42 per cent) and matched a season high with 12 3-pointers on 31 attempts. The Cardinals trademark pressure defence forced 22 turnovers and stifled the Golden Eagles (6-1) at the start of both halves, holding them scoreless for more than 12 combined minutes. USMs total points set a season low for a Louisville opponent. "That was a tail whipping," USM coach Donnie Tyndall said. "Their team was obviously better coached and more prepared than our team. I say that sincerely and I mean it." Louisville senior guard Russ Smith scored his 11 points in the second half. Forward Montrezl Harrell also scored 11 with nine rebounds. Louisville outrebounded Southern Mississippi 38-33, scored 21 points off turnovers and made 16 assists. Michael Craigs nine points led the Golden Eagles, who shot 13 of 45 from the field (29 per cent). The Cardinals had nowhere to go but up after losing to the Tar Heels in a game marked by bad shots against the zone and frequent defensiive breakdowns.dddddddddddd. A hard week of practice followed and Pitino changed his starting lineup, inserting Rozier into Jones starting spot with Mathiang supplanting Stephan Van Treese in the middle. "I dont really dont care who starts but I was doing it because I wanted to get Terry some confidence," Pitino said. "He wasnt playing the way the Terry Rozier Ive seen in practice. I just wanted to get him some early minutes and getting him feeling good about himself. It was nothing anybody did wrong." It took just 21 seconds for the moves to start paying off as Rozier buried the first of back-to-back 3-pointers followed by Mathiangs jumper off the glass as Louisville scored the first 13 points over 5:02. Though 5-of-9 shooting helped, improved ball movement against the Golden Eagles zone set up those chances as the patient Cardinals worked it around, inside and out in recording 12 assists, more than they had in both of the past two games. Though the Cardinals good shooting cooled off to 12 of 29 (41 per cent) by halftime as Louisville attempted 17 from beyond the arc, the opportunities were there and Jones came off the bench to sink of 2 of 3. Left out of the early fun were Smith -- who had 36 points in Sundays loss -- and Hancock, whose combined 0-for-8 start from long range left them scoreless at the break. Hancock finished with five points while Smith hit 5 of 8 from the field. "It was one of those games where the defence decides whether or not Im going to score," Smith said. "They didnt want me to score and I wasnt going to take any bad shots." More impressive was Louisvilles defensive energy that Pitino compared to last years championship team. The Cardinals held Southern Mississippi scoreless for the first 5:30 of the game and the initial 6:54 of the second half, paving the way for the kind of performance Pitino hopes will become a habit. "We want to play how we did last season," the coach said. 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