I've pointed this out earlier in the season.
It has more to do with the fact that when Cuz is on the floor, he doesn't pass the ball very much at all. He has such a high usage, that he takes away looks from his teammates.
We saw this last year, when Cuz was out. Ben tore it up. The reason why? The team was actually giving him the ball, and even letting him have opportunities to be more aggressive. With Cuz on the floor, you restrict his game to be an occasional spot up shooter.
Ben has a much higher ceiling than just a 3&D player, but that's what we're limiting him to..primarily because our best player likes to have the ball most of the time.
You need to give a young player like Ben, a much more consistent role.
It's not the fact that he's a 4th or 5th option, it's the fact that he just doesn't get to see the ball a lot, or at all.
You could say the same thing for Willie. His usage rate is 10% which means 9 out of 10 offensive possessions someone else ends the possession. Boogie has a higher usage rate than Curry (33%) and the highest of his career, which can be partly justified if his TS% is superior to his teammates.
His TS% is respectable but his usage is a little too high for my liking especially when under-utilizing other players.
Willie 66% TS (10% usage)
Omri 60% TS
Ben 56.7% TS (17% usage)
Boogie 55.2% TS (34.4% usage)
Koufos 54.1% TS
Darren 53.6% TS
Rudy 50.3% TS
Rondo 46.3% TS
If the Kings want to be a team they need more prominent contributions from Willie and Ben and that responsibility falls on them being more assertive and Boogie and Rondo taking more active role to get them involved.
The Kings are going to win by getting better play from Rudy (career 55% TS), Ben, Willie and Marco. The substitutions and coaching and pace are factors but fundamentally these guys just need to be better. Salvaging the season and making playoff push depends on it.
Willie is a decoy in this offense with everyone is keying on Cousins. The lack of attention he gets should be exploited with easy scores. I think he can average 10 PPG easily. If he goes three games in a row like he did recently without even attempting a shot, you have to wonder what the hell is going on.
What can't happen is Boogie monopolizing the ball at a meddling efficiency while trying to carry the team offensively. He has a tendency to do this. No matter how dominant you are you cannot do it yourself. Even if it works in the short-term it doesn't over the long haul.
It makes the team overly predictable and is one of the reasons the Kings are 2nd in the NBA in turnovers to a team that is not even trying to win (76ers), so effectively they are 1st in throwing the ball away among teams that are trying. Given injuries and generosity their record is not a surprise.
I used to complain about Boogie and Tyreke having NO chemistry between them. I haven't seen chemistry between he and Willie either or effort to set him up for easy scores. A veteran needs to throw a rookie a bone every now and again. If there is a valid criticism of Boogie as a player, it has been this lack of reliance and trust he shows in his teammates and tunnel vision as reflected in usage.
Boogie needs ball on most possessions but he doesn't need to try to single handedly slay the dragon. Too often he seems to have this mindset like he doesn't realize he has upgraded talent around him. He sacrifices efficiency when he forces shots. This is next evolution in his game that has stagnated, making the simple play instead of high degree of difficulty one.
Finding balance between pass and shot is frankly challenge for all superior talents. He does a good job on being selective with his 3 ball. He's been less successful when he attacks the rim. Players who go from good to great find this optimal balance and those that do not stay simply good.
If the Kings offense resolves around Rondo-Boogie and Rudy isos with Ben and Willie getting the scraps, they will never realize their potential as a unit. When Boogie becomes true teammate instead of guy who has anointed himself as burden carrier of all results, the team can be legitimate.
This is a long winded way of saying Ben and Willie are pretty good get them the ball.
And plea to both not to defer too often or let talents go to waste.
