All -Suspected Surprise Team-Good Job DeMarcus

[rainmaker]

This is from insider, so per the rules, I'll only post the pertaining to Cousins.

DeMarcus Cousins: Seriously. All the attention focused on the Paul Westphal situation has distracted everyone from how much Cousins has improved from last season. He's in much better shape and posting a monstrous 20.8 rebound rate. Despite criticism of his shot selection, he's posting a better TS% than last season -- one that would be dramatically better, as our Kevin Pelton pointed out, if not for an unusually large number of rimmed-out chippies. He blocks nearly two shots a game and takes numerous charges, and he has his way against star players too. Cousins neutralized Orlando's Dwight Howard by drawing several fouls and overwhelmed L.A.'s Pau Gasol with his physicality. The only thing holding him back is fouls -- he's picking up nearly one every five minutes, making it tough for him to stay on the court.

Nice to see DeMarcus getting some recognition for his play nationally. A positive, in a pretty negative start to the season. Keep it up big boy.

 

[Section 101]

Was just going to post this.

 

[Prince_XY]

This big kid can become as big as Dwight Howard in a few years. What is so special that I see in him is that he always wants to win and hates very much losing - a franchise type of player.

I hope the Kings can have Tyreke and Cousins for a long time.

 

[Bricklayer]

I'm glad somebody out there has noticed this.

Just for kicks let me post this. Note that the efficiency and overall defense mean that I am NOT claiming he is better than Dwight Howard.,,yet. However:

Per 36 min 2011-12
Cousins: 20.4pts (.432 .745) 13.8reb 0.9ast 1.7stl 2.4blk 4.3TO 6.7FL
Howard: 18.1pts (.591 .451) 14.2reb 1.9ast 1.4stl 2.4blk 2.9TO 3.1FL

lest I be accused of cherrypicking Howard's numbers after his skunk vs. the Kings (mind you Demarcus had one too after he was benched by Westphal), let me list Howard's numbers from last year, whihc may have been his finest:

10-11
Howard: 21.9pts (.593 .596) 13.5reb 1.3ast 1.3stl 2.3blk 3.4TO 3.2FL

 

[dmj]

His FG% this year isn't just a statistcal fluke. It was bad last year and looks to be about the same this year.

It isn't all his fault, however. The root of the problem is that Demarcus is being asked to create most of his offense by himself. Very rarely does another player create an oppurtunity for him; instead, Cousins' shots come from offensive rebounds or from isolation sets. On a better team, with better ball-movement and a true PG who could create shots for him, there is a chance we wouldn't even be having this problem.

Another factor is that Cousins plays flat-footed and has trouble getting his shot off cleanly when defended closely in the paint. This is the main reason he misses a lot of the point blank chip shots described in the article. It also is why Cousins got his shot blocked twice last night by an aging, less-than-athletic Elton Brand.

 

[Bricklayer]

His FG% this year isn't just a statistcal fluke. It was bad last year and looks to be about the same this year.

It isn't all his fault, however. The root of the problem is that Demarcus is being asked to create most of his offense by himself. Very rarely does anything come easily to him by way of another player creating an oppurtunity for him; instead, Cousins' shots come from offensive rebounds or from isolation sets. On a better team, with better ball-movement and a true PG who could create shots for him, there is a chance we wouldn't even be having this problem.

Another factor is that Cousins plays flat-footed and has trouble getting his shot off cleanly when defended closely in the paint. This is the main reason he misses a lot of the point blank chip shots described in the article. It also is why Cousins got his shot blocked twice last night by an aging, less-than-athletic Elton Brand.

The latter is the issue that he needs to correct. The former is largely irrelevant. Great post playing centers do NOT get their numbers because of some little twit running around setting them up for gimmes. Great post playing centers get their numbers, and have their value, in you throwing the ball to them and then getting out of the way while they go to work. DeMarcus just isn't finshing those plays at this point. Its by far his biggest blackmark at the moment, but the challenge is nothing the other great ppst centers of the past haven't faced and overcome.

 

[Section 101]

The latter is the issue that he needs to correct. The former is largely irrelevant. Great post playing centers do NOT get their numbers because of some little twit running around setting them up for gimmes. Great post playing centers get their numbers, and have their value, in you throwing the ball to them and then getting out of the way while they go to work. DeMarcus just isn't finshing those plays at this point. Its by far his biggest blackmark at the moment, but the challenge is nothing the other great ppst centers of the past haven't faced and overcome.

But they do need to get the ball and in the right spots and time.

 

[IfAt1st]

Hell, yes!

DMC VERY seldom gets easy points.
That dish-off from IT last night was literally one of the only easy buckets (I think I can count them on one hand this year) that DMC has gotten.

Most big men I see who are considered "powerhouses" get LOTS of easy put-backs and dunks by being assisted, or getting rebounds due to his opposing defender moving over to stop penetration. Demarcus usually has to fight a big man for the rebound and seldom gets easy points.
Which is why he is a virtual lock to be an all-star as soon as this Kings organization realizes that, and starts to use him the way his skills SCREAM to!
Him having less than 1 assist a game is criminal. BTW - he has at least 2 assists a night wiped off the board because the King he passes to blows the play, and/or is hacked to stop the basket.

Which brings up another observation - most other teams have zero problem with stopping layups by fouling a King (and removing the assist from the board). The Kings have been pretty obviously NOT fouling layups, many times even pulling away from the guy to ensure there's no foul.

 

[Bricklayer]

But they do need to get the ball and in the right spots and time.

Of course, but DeMarcus is getting the ball a ton. He's averaging 22.5 FGA per 48. Amare only averages 23.0. He's 3rd in the league in FGA amongst centers, just ahead of Dwight, and just eyeballing it (since I can't find anyplace which breaks it down) he's got far and away the highest per 48 number. Now some of that is exaggerated by all his misses inside and offensive rebounds off those misses -- the Moses Malone theory. But he's still far from starved of shots, and this year the vast majority of those have been inside rather than throwing the ball to him on the elbow.

I mean, when you really get down to it DeMarcus's low FG% is almost entirely due to him missing shots right at the rim. There haven't been wads of missed jumpers or skyhooks or something. He's juat been blowing chippees at an alarming rate, and I don't know how much better a shot a big guy can ask for except a chippee.

According to hoodata.com amongst all big men (Cs of PFs) he's 2nd in the league in attempts at the rim, but dead last amongst the leaders by a wide margin at finsihing them. The only other guy close is the smaller and even more groundbound Kevin Love:

Name Att/Rim FG%
Griffin 7.0 75.5%
Cousins 6.8 50.8%
Howard 6.8 68.9%
Bynum 6.7 66.0%
Amare 6.4 66.7%
Love 6.3 54.0%
Monroe 6.0 71.7%
Aldridge 5.9 60.4%
Lee 5.8 65.2%
McGee 5.7 68.6%
Varejao 5.4 63.3%
Bosh 5.4 75.9%

According to my calculations if he was doing no more than hitting a big man average 65-66% of those chippees he would bump his shooting percetage from 43% all the way to 51.4% (6.8 inside shots x .15 = 1.02 x9 games = 9 more made shots, he's 48 of 11 on the year, so he would then be 57 of 111 = 51.35%). He just has to learn to finish and he's a monster.

 

[Arkitect]

Of course, but DeMarcus is getting the ball a ton. He's averaging 22.5 FGA per 48. Amare only averages 23.0. He's 3rd in the league in FGA amongst centers, just ahead of Dwight, and just eyeballing it (since I can't find anyplace which breaks it down) he's got far and away the highest per 48 number. Now some of that is exaggerated by all his misses inside and offensive rebounds off those misses -- the Moses Malone theory. But he's still far from starved of shots, and this year the vast majority of those have been inside rather than throwing the ball to him on the elbow.

I mean, when you really get down to it DeMarcus's low FG% is almost entirely due to him missing shots right at the rim. There haven't been wads of missed jumpers or skyhooks or something. He's juat been blowing chippees at an alarming rate, and I don't know how much better a shot a big guy can ask for except a chippee.

According to hoodata.com amongst all big men (Cs of PFs) he's 2nd in the league in attempts at the rim, but dead last amongst the leaders by a wide margin at finsihing them. The only other guy close is the smaller and even more groundbound Kevin Love:

Name Att/Rim FG%
Griffin 7.0 75.5%
Cousins 6.8 50.8%
Howard 6.8 68.9%
Bynum 6.7 66.0%
Amare 6.4 66.7%
Love 6.3 54.0%
Monroe 6.0 71.7%
Aldridge 5.9 60.4%
Lee 5.8 65.2%
McGee 5.7 68.6%
Varejao 5.4 63.3%
Bosh 5.4 75.9%

According to my calculations if he was doing no more than hitting a big man average 65-66% of those chippees he would bump his shooting percetage from 43% all the way to 51.4% (6.8 inside shots x .15 = 1.02 x9 games = 9 more made shots, he's 48 of 11 on the year, so he would then be 57 of 111 = 51.35%). He just has to learn to finish and he's a monster.

To quote Bill Walton:

Throw it down big man!

Seriously, if DMC could just dunk it when he is that close, his FG% would be much better.

 

[IfAt1st]

Those stats about DMC not finishing is because his inside shots are WAY more contested, on average, than the leading big men's.

I don't have stats for that, but as I mentioned, he seldom gets drop-off assists for dunks the way lots of other contending-for-AllStar big men get.
The Kings penetrate, and then kick OUT.
Whenever they drive and try to pass inside, the other team's defense picks it off (and/or cause DMC some of those TO's he gets).

If and when the Kings start having reliable plays called for him (like that opening-play the other night where he flashed to the basket and got the easy hoop, or IT's penetration and drop-off for the dunk) then DMC will start finishing better and the %'s will improve from those uncontested layins/dunks.

DMC almost ALWAYS has someone directly between him and the basket - watch the games and count the times he is clear to be able to dunk. Most of the time he has to spin around his guy to have a clear lane to the basket - and when he does, he has the help defender to contend with.