DeMarcus Cousins Suspended For Shoving A Bulls Coach And Earning Two Technicals

DeMarcus Cousins will have to serve a one-game suspension unless the NBA rescinds one of his two technicals that he earned against the Bulls on Monday night.

Cousins’ first technical came after an altercation with Bulls assistant Jim Boylen while Boylen was attempting to separate Rajon Rondo from Kings players. Boylen reached out to hold Cousins away and put his hand on the big man, which Cousins took offense to and he retaliated by pushing Boylen back.

The backlash against Cousins for that shove has been immense, but it wasn’t a vicious push and he wasn’t the one that initiated the contact. While worthy of the technical foul, it was more of a frustrated shove after being contacted first by Boylen (and it doesn’t look like Cousins is even going in the direction of Rondo or a Bulls player).

The second technical is the more egregious one, and the one Kings fans, players and coaches should be more frustrated by. Cousins received a second technical after he complained about a no-call in the final seconds of the game on a three-point attempt. That technical, which led to an ejection, was his 16th of the season, meaning for the second straight season he’s crossed the threshold for a one-game suspension.

Neither technical seems likely to be rescinded by the NBA, and the Kings, currently mired in a losing skid that’s seen them drop four of their last five games, will now have to play a game without their star big man as they slide further out of the eighth spot in the West (currently 3.5 games back of Denver).

Update: Cousins was officially suspended by the NBA on Tuesday night for the Kings’ upcoming game against the Celtics. He was also fined $25,000 by the league for “making an inappropriate remark and gesture” after leaving the court following Saturday’s Sacramento win over the Warriors.

Not only will Cousins miss Wednesday’s game against Boston, but he’s now on thin ice as he will be suspended for one game after every two technicals for the rest of the season. With nearly 30 games left to play, Cousins will have to be on his best behavior with Sacramento scrapping for a playoff spot.