DeMarcus Cousins: All NBA
- Thread starter Bricklayer
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Most of us watch Cuz go against every team multiple times over the course of the season. Most national media watch Cuz a handful of times per year when we visit big markets, or the various local media heads who watch Cuz when we play their teams.
Am I supposed to trust someone's opinion who watches Cuz 5-10% as much as I do? A lot of this is exposure. Put Cuz in a Chi or NY or really any East Coast team, he'd get more attention.
Am I supposed to trust someone's opinion who watches Cuz 5-10% as much as I do? A lot of this is exposure. Put Cuz in a Chi or NY or really any East Coast team, he'd get more attention.
I'd take Cuz over Davis. Cousins has the ability to eat any opposing big man for lunch with his combination of size, strength, and finesse. I just don't feel like you can count on Davis to carry your team like you can DMC. Also I have a feeling that Davis is going to have an injury riddled career while Cousins has been very healthy through his first 4 seasons.
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Anthony Davis is a beast on both ends. However he lacks 2 intangibles for me. He doesn't have the spirit to win anything big and he can't pass the ball for crap. 2 things that cousins excels at. Cousins would give up anything to get a ring and be recognized in the league. I don't see the same fire in Davis. I think when all is said and done, Davis will be more recognized but Cousins is more valuable to a championship team. Just my opinion. I'd rather start my team with Cousins than Davis. I can get a rim protector from my other big man.
The whole Davis>Cousins idea has to come from making an analysis based on sportscenter highlights or comparing box scores with a pre established biased. When you need a high percentage shot in the playoffs you don't look to your mobile, help defense inclined, jump shooting bigman. Cousins demands the attention of the entire defense and still does what he wants. In my mind they're on different echelons.
Not bizzarre - just a bit more objective I think. DMC is not "clearly" a better player the Anthony (not Antonio
) Davis. Objective fans may give the edge to one or the other, but to say that 1 is clearly better than the other is simply biased fandom. The same could be said for the Love vs. DMC discussion.
Any Kings fan who picks Davis over Cousins needs to have their credentials checked. Statistically, it's a wash. Davis is a beast, Cousins is a beast. Davis will win DPOY awards, Cousins could one day lead the league in scoring. But one of them wears Sacramento across his chest. That tips the scale substantially in my opinion, and I have no shame in saying that.
Davis is a better defender and has a solid offensive game to build upon (lots of his points come off dunks and using his athleticism though, hence the high %), but as an offensive force he has nowhere even close to the repertoire of Cousins. The numbers aren't as close per 36. They're closer because Davis plays more minutes. I'm not criticising Davis, he's a great young player, but he'll never be a number one option that you throw the ball to at the end of the game. Cousins has that talent. As important as those defensive bigs are (and that's obviously selling Davis short as he's more than that), it's the true number 1 option talent that will bring home the bacon. That's the difference between the two.
But the thing is actually he didn't.
Right here, this year? Cousins was a better player. Davis was not ready yet. Pretty defensive stats...but you look for the impact and it wasn;t there. By the numbers Cousins actually meant more to his team defensively than did Davis. And Davis isn't a goto guy yet either. he's a finisher. he needs to be set up. to run, get alley oops, all that other junk which doesn't really matter when games get close.
But now, to extend that forward and say he will never be as good or better than Cousins...well, now you're taking the argument too far, and for no reason. Both guys are on HOF arcs for young players. If Cousins is a Top 10 player next year, and Davis joins him, nothing is lost. He's the one big who I think could rival Cousins going forward for best big in the game. Noah's inclusion in the conversation at these levels is a joke, Howard will be dispensed with within a year or two. Duncan is out of time. The elite PFs can barely keep pace with Boogie's raw stats as is, and none of them play defense. But Davis is the other young guy with potential special. Mayeb Embiid one day, but that's just speculation right now.
I think it's much easier to build a successful team with a big man defensive anchor and a wing as a number one option on offense, and more and more successful teams in today's NBA are built that way. Of course, that's because few current centers are capable of being a true number one option. But generally, I think the perception is that it's more important to get defense from your bigs and offense from everyone else, and because Cousins is perceived as deficient on defense, his reputation suffers.
A few months ago I posted a scouting report of Marc Gasol from his first year in the NBA, and it listed a number of critiques of his defense that sounded eerily similar to Cousins. I think there's a chance that Cousins, given the right effort on his part and the coaching staff, could get close to making the same improvements to his defense that Gasol did. If he does, he will be dominant on both ends of the floor and the unquestioned best all-around center. Given the strides on defense Cousins appeared to take this season, I have hope.
A few months ago I posted a scouting report of Marc Gasol from his first year in the NBA, and it listed a number of critiques of his defense that sounded eerily similar to Cousins. I think there's a chance that Cousins, given the right effort on his part and the coaching staff, could get close to making the same improvements to his defense that Gasol did. If he does, he will be dominant on both ends of the floor and the unquestioned best all-around center. Given the strides on defense Cousins appeared to take this season, I have hope.
This notion that Davis is some kind of rich mans Tyson Chandler on the offensive end is under selling him. The perimeter skills he already possesses at his age and size are frightening. While he will probably never have the impact in the low post that Cousins does I wouldn't underestimate his potential as a number one option. Not sure who I'd take, but when it comes to players age 25 and under him and Cousins are 1a and 1b.
Edit: Forgot that Paul George is only 24. He has to be in the conversation for top prospect 25 and under as well.
Edit: Forgot that Paul George is only 24. He has to be in the conversation for top prospect 25 and under as well.
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You're right, me having a slight bias in favor of my favorite team such that of two identical players I pick the one I've watched play for the past 4 years rather than wishing I could trade him for someone else's best player absolutely makes this team a national punchline. If you think fans of other teams are completely objective, you've obviously never read the message boards of other fan bases. And I think it's a joke that anyone calling themselves a fan of this team would side with the national pundits who dismiss our players as inferior simply because they play for Sacramento. We know that Sacramento isn't taken seriously -- and we also know that those people are wrong. That's the whole point of this topic. This is a rather crude way of putting it, but I feel strongly about this -- if you want to join some kind of pity party, get the F out of here. Cousins deserved to be All-NBA this year and so did Anthony Davis. The numbers show it, and the voters got it wrong like they so often do. Is Lebron James on the Kings better than Lebron James on the Heat? Damn right he is. Do I care that ESPN disagrees? Not at all. And would I trade Cousins for Davis? As a GM I'd certainly explore my options. As a fan, I'm sticking up for my guy. Homers think they're being completely objective as they spout hyperbole. I own my bias -- it's part of being a fan.
How many here actually watch NO? On the offensive end, Davis still qualifies are a role player. Doesn't have the game to get tough shot in go-to situations nor has the game to have the offense run through him.
He's still an elite talent and could be ultimate glue player type, but until he adds a fair amount more to his game in the offensive end, he'll still be more a role playing, off the ball type who largely depends on others to create for him, while Cuz already has the skillset to be a clear #1 option and foundation of an offensive system.
BTW, it's amusing AD's efficiency was brought up and Reke was a big part of that, constantly drawing multiple defenders and hitting AD rolling to the rim or for an open jumper. But efficiency doesn't equate to a top offensive option and a player you can run your offense through. Tyson Chandler is also incredibly efficient, as is a guy like Kyle Korver. But ask them to do anything aside from taking advantage of offense/opportunities being created for them and you'll get an entire different picture.
He's still an elite talent and could be ultimate glue player type, but until he adds a fair amount more to his game in the offensive end, he'll still be more a role playing, off the ball type who largely depends on others to create for him, while Cuz already has the skillset to be a clear #1 option and foundation of an offensive system.
BTW, it's amusing AD's efficiency was brought up and Reke was a big part of that, constantly drawing multiple defenders and hitting AD rolling to the rim or for an open jumper. But efficiency doesn't equate to a top offensive option and a player you can run your offense through. Tyson Chandler is also incredibly efficient, as is a guy like Kyle Korver. But ask them to do anything aside from taking advantage of offense/opportunities being created for them and you'll get an entire different picture.