1. It was pretty bad.

2. He never stopped working.

That's its own brand of progress, I suppose. Cousins, save a couple of sweet plays, was awful until the final minutes of the game. His shot attempts were erratic, forced and ugly. He leaned on that familiar propensity to foul when he (or a teammate) was beat, and he didn't exactly race up the court on many possessions. But he kept believing he could damage the Lakers, and he did. He scored on three straight possessions to ice the game, with two pretty lay-ups and a drawn foul. He never stopped fighting.

If last season is any indication, Cousins will be featured against the Jazz. In 2011-12, Boogie averaged 21 points and 15 rebounds, shooting just 41 percent with 2.5 turnovers per game. Jefferson, meanwhile, averaged 19-9 on 52 percent shooting against the Kings.

Here's to hoping Cousins can be more efficient than he's been and help the team move forward toward some consistency.