Demarcus Cousins Watch
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There's a good chance that there will be some annual version of this thread until Cousins retires, or until I leave KingsFans.com. Whichever comes first.
The only reason why there wasn't a Tyreke Evans Watch thread this season is because Evans started the season in a suit. If Evans is healthy and active on Opening Night 2017, and not on the Kings, I assure you that there will be a Tyreke Evans Watch thread here.
The only reason why there wasn't a Tyreke Evans Watch thread this season is because Evans started the season in a suit. If Evans is healthy and active on Opening Night 2017, and not on the Kings, I assure you that there will be a Tyreke Evans Watch thread here.
Erm, no... "Die LAKER scum" is the only acceptable version of that saying. I can easily prove ownership. 
This is the Demarcus Cousins watch thread. If you (and not just you twslam07) don't want to read about DMC, there's a simple solution. Do like a lot of folks did with the IT thread - ignore it and move on.
This is the Demarcus Cousins watch thread. If you (and not just you twslam07) don't want to read about DMC, there's a simple solution. Do like a lot of folks did with the IT thread - ignore it and move on.
Can we please stop pretending that Cousins' made the Kings worse? There is tons of evidence against this claim. It's like claiming the earth is flat in this day & age (looking at you Kyrie).
Cousins' On/Off the Past 4 Years:
2013-14: +3.9 pts
2014-15: +9.5 pts
2015-16: +6.8 pts
2016-17: +4.5 pts
Cousins' RPM the Past 4 Years:
2013-14: +0.76 (127th in the league)
2014-15: +6.12 (9th in the league)
2015-16: +4.83 (14th in the league)
2016-17: +4.96 (14th in the league)
Kings Winning % with Cousins the Past 4 Years: 41% (equivalent to 34 wins)
Kings Winning % without Cousins the Past 4 Years: 21% (equivalent to 17 wins)
So not only do advanced impact stats show that Cousins helps a team tremendously, but basic W/L essentially tells us that he took a 17 win team and added an additional 17 wins on top of it. That's pretty darn impressive. A 17 win team the past 3 seasons would have been the 2nd worst team in the league.
We failed Cousins. Cousins did not fail us.
Cousins' On/Off the Past 4 Years:
2013-14: +3.9 pts
2014-15: +9.5 pts
2015-16: +6.8 pts
2016-17: +4.5 pts
Cousins' RPM the Past 4 Years:
2013-14: +0.76 (127th in the league)
2014-15: +6.12 (9th in the league)
2015-16: +4.83 (14th in the league)
2016-17: +4.96 (14th in the league)
Kings Winning % with Cousins the Past 4 Years: 41% (equivalent to 34 wins)
Kings Winning % without Cousins the Past 4 Years: 21% (equivalent to 17 wins)
So not only do advanced impact stats show that Cousins helps a team tremendously, but basic W/L essentially tells us that he took a 17 win team and added an additional 17 wins on top of it. That's pretty darn impressive. A 17 win team the past 3 seasons would have been the 2nd worst team in the league.
We failed Cousins. Cousins did not fail us.
Congratulations to DeMarcus Cousins on becoming the 340th player in NBA history to reach 10,000 career points. My Google-fu is weak, so I couldn't figure out how to determine where he ranks in terms of age and speed, but he did reach the milestone at 26 years, 204 days, and in 475 games.
Cousins is the first player from the class of 2010 to reach 10,000 points.
Cousins is the first player from the class of 2010 to reach 10,000 points.
Still having a hard time to figure out, what the Pel's wanted to accomplish by trading for Cuz.
What is the supposed purpose of a DMC+AD lineup?
I assumed by pairing two of the best bigs they wanted to excel in rebounding, rim protection, inside-out and high-low plays and paint scoring.
But somehow there is very little inside-out, no high-low, AD and Cousins are stretching the floor at the same time for their guards to penetrate, their rim protection is terrible, they are getting destroyed in the pick&roll (and not only Cousins, AD isn't doing a better job on D by any means), their rebounding is ok, but they hardly dominate opposing teams on the glass.
Against the Jazz they looked best, when Jordan Crawford got rolling and AD played off of him, with Boogie frozen out of the offense and passively standing out at the 3 point line.
I get it - things will take time to gel, but so far I just can't see the advantage of the "twin towers" outside of protecting AD from taking a beating at center.
I assumed before making such a trade the Pel's would have make up their mind, how they want to utilize those bigs. I assumed they would maybe study the playbook of the late 90's Spurs and try to implement a thing or two in todays NBA. But so far it looks like the same 4 out to 5 out stuff almost every team is running now, only that 2 guys are 6'10+, which doesn't seem that beneficial, because they are slower, in AD's case not that good of a 3pt shooter and with all the talent locked in the big man positions their guards are subpar.
Like I said - I don't get it. Cuz or AD with 1 strong wing from the Jamychal Green breed, a couple of 3&D wings and a solid PG seems so much more promising than this two big man approach, if you don't utilize the superior strength and size of those guys. This is ugly to watch and in Cuz's place I wouldn't resign with the Pel's this offseason. If things go bad, this can easily turn into a Drummond+Monroe like situation for him, with the potential to really hurt his market value. I would try FA and hope the Celtics or Wizards are interested and are able to clear enough room to offer the max.
What is the supposed purpose of a DMC+AD lineup?
I assumed by pairing two of the best bigs they wanted to excel in rebounding, rim protection, inside-out and high-low plays and paint scoring.
But somehow there is very little inside-out, no high-low, AD and Cousins are stretching the floor at the same time for their guards to penetrate, their rim protection is terrible, they are getting destroyed in the pick&roll (and not only Cousins, AD isn't doing a better job on D by any means), their rebounding is ok, but they hardly dominate opposing teams on the glass.
Against the Jazz they looked best, when Jordan Crawford got rolling and AD played off of him, with Boogie frozen out of the offense and passively standing out at the 3 point line.
I get it - things will take time to gel, but so far I just can't see the advantage of the "twin towers" outside of protecting AD from taking a beating at center.
I assumed before making such a trade the Pel's would have make up their mind, how they want to utilize those bigs. I assumed they would maybe study the playbook of the late 90's Spurs and try to implement a thing or two in todays NBA. But so far it looks like the same 4 out to 5 out stuff almost every team is running now, only that 2 guys are 6'10+, which doesn't seem that beneficial, because they are slower, in AD's case not that good of a 3pt shooter and with all the talent locked in the big man positions their guards are subpar.
Like I said - I don't get it. Cuz or AD with 1 strong wing from the Jamychal Green breed, a couple of 3&D wings and a solid PG seems so much more promising than this two big man approach, if you don't utilize the superior strength and size of those guys. This is ugly to watch and in Cuz's place I wouldn't resign with the Pel's this offseason. If things go bad, this can easily turn into a Drummond+Monroe like situation for him, with the potential to really hurt his market value. I would try FA and hope the Celtics or Wizards are interested and are able to clear enough room to offer the max.
I thought Cousins was still under contract for next year. I thought this summer it was the extension that he was eligible to sign. Gentry is a horrible coach for both Davis AND Cousins. AND that was predicted before Cousins played his first game with them.
Edit: Heck, it was predicted that Gentry was a horrible coach for AD even before he played his first game with his new coach.
Edit: Heck, it was predicted that Gentry was a horrible coach for AD even before he played his first game with his new coach.
Shhh! We get their pick this year, we don't want them figuring this out until next season. They need to replace Alvin Gentry, he's got them moving in the wrong direction but we've seen first hand how hiring the wrong coach and taking too long to fire them can kill a team. I do hope they figure this out though cause I want to see Cuz in the playoffs. Next year.
Cousins is under contract for next season. But during his introduction interviews everyone sounded confident, that he would resign with the Pels this offseason in order to give them maximum security of their big two to go after other complimentary FA's.
This is exactly what I wouldn't do if I were Cuz. I wouldn't trust another franchise, who has proven to do a terrible job constructing a roster around their star for years, to make the correct calls. I wouldn't bank my future on this franchise and this coach.
If Gentry has no idea how to utilize his bigs, why did they trade for him in the first place.
This is exactly what I wouldn't do if I were Cuz. I wouldn't trust another franchise, who has proven to do a terrible job constructing a roster around their star for years, to make the correct calls. I wouldn't bank my future on this franchise and this coach.
If Gentry has no idea how to utilize his bigs, why did they trade for him in the first place.
Shhh! We get their pick this year, we don't want them figuring this out until next season. They need to replace Alvin Gentry, he's got them moving in the wrong direction but we've seen first hand how hiring the wrong coach and taking too long to fire them can kill a team. I do hope they figure this out though cause I want to see Cuz in the playoffs. Next year.
Honestly I don't think the Pel's are a very good fit for Cuz. Wizards and Celtics could really use him once he hits FA and if they manage to keep their core intact while adding Cousins those teams could become true contenders. I don't see that for the Pelicans. Last thing I want to watch is Cousins wasting another 4 years of his career on an incompetent team.
Yeah, it may be out of the frying pan and into the fire for him, that is another terribly run organization. Thing is, DeMarcus bleeds loyalty and that's his hometown team. Things would have to get very bad for him there to jump ship I think, especially with his Kentucky brother there too, but it's certainly a possibility. Boston would have been ideal for him but I can't blame them for sitting on those first overall pick odds at this point. Post-lottery would have been the time to strike after they lose to LeBron again in the PO and that pick falls to 3 or 4 but coulda woulda shoulda and all that.
As I said at the time the trade was done, Gentry is the worst possible coach for that team with those 2 big guys. Give them Joerger or Malone and the Pelicans make the play offs this season on the back of Cousins, Davis and Holiday. That is despite the rest of the roster being terrible fits for those 3
Missed the first part of the game, when he was apparently on fire. Not sure what changed after that, other than Davis getting hurt, but from the time I started watching until the end of the game, Cousins went something like 2-for-13, with an unconscionable amount of three-point attempts. He pretty much played like ass for twenty of his twenty-nine minutes.
Now, that having been said, when you go 8-for-23, for 25 points, and the other four guys in the starting lineup combine to go 8-for-22, for 22 points, it's a tough sell to say that the one guy was the problem, unless you've got an axe to grind; it's not like the Pelicans did anything when he was on the bench.
Now, that having been said, when you go 8-for-23, for 25 points, and the other four guys in the starting lineup combine to go 8-for-22, for 22 points, it's a tough sell to say that the one guy was the problem, unless you've got an axe to grind; it's not like the Pelicans did anything when he was on the bench.
Here's the thing: the Pelicans went into the trade as a Bottom 10 outside shooting team in the league, and they gave up two of their five best outside shooters to get Cousins. Of the three that are left, two of them are in a slump, and the third can't play at the same time that Cousins and Davis are both on the court, because he's the backup PF. So, you've got two top-tier big men, but nobody able to space the floor for them; how did people think this was going to play out?
Holiday shoots 37% from 3 this year. Moore is a 40% shooter. Hill shoots 33% this year. Thompson has a career average around 38% from 3. Cunningham shoots 37% mostly from the corner.
To put all blame on the supporting cast is easy, but the Grizzlies played Gasol+Zbo with lineups like Conley, Lee, Allen or Conley, Allen, Jeff Green and still could make the spacing work.
I didn't expect Boogie and AD to win a lot of games from the get go. But I expected some kind of idea, how to let those two play off each other. I expected big to big plays. So far there is no synergy between them at all. The best stretch of Cuz+AD came, when Cuz simply bullied his opponent 1vs1 and AD scored off putbacks 2 times in a row. That was the most synergy we saw so far. That's pathetic.
To put all blame on the supporting cast is easy, but the Grizzlies played Gasol+Zbo with lineups like Conley, Lee, Allen or Conley, Allen, Jeff Green and still could make the spacing work.
I didn't expect Boogie and AD to win a lot of games from the get go. But I expected some kind of idea, how to let those two play off each other. I expected big to big plays. So far there is no synergy between them at all. The best stretch of Cuz+AD came, when Cuz simply bullied his opponent 1vs1 and AD scored off putbacks 2 times in a row. That was the most synergy we saw so far. That's pathetic.
Is that what you think I'm doing? Is that what you got out of what I wrote?
The main point I wanted to make was, that other teams had some kind of big to big synergy even without ideal floor spacing. In the case of the Pelicans that's not the case so far.
Wether it's because of AD+Boogie, the coach, the supporting cast or a general disadvantage of the twin tower approach in todays NBA is personal preference up to this point and we will need further evaluation to come to a valid conclusion.