Boogie and that All Star slot
- Thread starter Bricklayer
- Start date
K
It's all going to come down to his shot selection and stopping those cheap fouls he keeps picking up, there is not a big man in the NBA that can stop his half hooks he's just got to use them and once he gets them going when he's confident should make the rim seem a lot bigger when he's shooting middies.
Shot selection is #1 on my list of things for Demarcus to improve. But to his credit, he's been VASTLY better. He's way more willing to mix it up inside than before. But when he takes the jumper he lets the opponents off the hook. Demarcus should only take midrange jumpers when its a set-up catch-and-shoot. Otherwise he needs to be taking it to the rim.
#2 would be how to handle double teams. Golden State and Atlanta double teamed him hard, and he didn't always handle it correctly. Its no surprise that those two games were his worst games of the season. Denver, LAC, and Portland (twice) played him straight up. Result: 3 out of 4 games of 30+ ppg. Straight up dominance.
To his credit though, even when he HAS handled double teams correctly, the rest of the team has been utterly worthless in making plays against a compromised defense. Part of the reason is Patterson, Salmons and Thornton being worthless shooting-wise. The other is that there is no real second option who can reliably create his own shot from the perimeter.
#2 would be how to handle double teams. Golden State and Atlanta double teamed him hard, and he didn't always handle it correctly. Its no surprise that those two games were his worst games of the season. Denver, LAC, and Portland (twice) played him straight up. Result: 3 out of 4 games of 30+ ppg. Straight up dominance.
To his credit though, even when he HAS handled double teams correctly, the rest of the team has been utterly worthless in making plays against a compromised defense. Part of the reason is Patterson, Salmons and Thornton being worthless shooting-wise. The other is that there is no real second option who can reliably create his own shot from the perimeter.
as much as i'm rooting for DMC to snag an all-star slot, it's going to be very difficult for cousins to keep at his current pace with little help from his teammates. as good as he is, he's shouldering a tremendous load on offense, while also being asked to contribute considerably more on defense than he's ever given at any level. oh, and he needs to crash both the defensive and offensive glass like a madman on top of everything else, given the stubby, apathetic nature of more than half the roster. mostly, i'm hoping that vivek/shaq/malone are regularly in cousins' ears, psyching him up, massaging his ego, encouraging patience, and letting him know that help is [eventually] on the way, via trade and the 2014 draft...
as constructed, this team is just bad. and i mean BAD. since the new regime's airball of an inaugural offseason, i've maintained that these kings could very easily finish with a worse record than last year. i thought that the absence of keith smart, the revival of the arco thunder, and the addition of a head coach who was committed to defense might be enough to earn a few extra wins, but that's looking like a longshot. outside of DMC, the talent level is simply not there. worse yet, the hustle and pride haven't been there. DMC, IT, and the rookie are the only bright spots of this rocky opening to the vaunted and heavily-publicized "new era" of kings basketball. i'm hoping that DMC earns an all-star slot, that thomas earns a sixth man of the year award, and that mclemore truly impresses in his rookie season, but it's a tall order, given how poorly the kings are performing everywhere else...
as constructed, this team is just bad. and i mean BAD. since the new regime's airball of an inaugural offseason, i've maintained that these kings could very easily finish with a worse record than last year. i thought that the absence of keith smart, the revival of the arco thunder, and the addition of a head coach who was committed to defense might be enough to earn a few extra wins, but that's looking like a longshot. outside of DMC, the talent level is simply not there. worse yet, the hustle and pride haven't been there. DMC, IT, and the rookie are the only bright spots of this rocky opening to the vaunted and heavily-publicized "new era" of kings basketball. i'm hoping that DMC earns an all-star slot, that thomas earns a sixth man of the year award, and that mclemore truly impresses in his rookie season, but it's a tall order, given how poorly the kings are performing everywhere else...
I don't know that I agree completely with this. I think most of points should be back to basket low post shots, but that mid-range bank shot is looking pretty good. Against big-time shot blockers, he can use that shot to establish himself as a mid-range threat (because he is) and pull them away from the basket a bit.
People don't get the importance of his faceup game. Same formalism that led others to believe that hey, let's get a "pure" PG and we'll be all fixed. No. Pure is another way of saying limited sometimes. Its the guys who break the mold, who can do many things, that are dangerous. Cousins may be "Big Cuz" in bulk, but he's distinctly smaller than the 7'1" behemoths like the Lopezes or Gasols. Its the combination of his inside bullyball and his faceup game that is why he's a once in a generation talent. No matter who he is facing he has an advantage somewhere to exploit, and no matter the defense he can be moved all over the court to attack from numerous angles and positions.
K
I agree but that's what makes the half hook shot so good there's no reason against 7'1 guys he can't get his half hook off easily on them he's got crazy wingspan and strength where he can keep them away enough just to get it off he does not have to seattle as much as he does imo. Hooks you can use against bigger/slower players I would love to see Cousins face up on players like Bogut drive hard and instead of going all the way kind of ball up and throw up a hook imo he would kill bigger players doing that and get them into foul trouble. If he learned to combined his face up game with his inside game that would be unreal.
It is interesting that at one time people might have argued with you - the fools. 
Cuz is becoming what a lot of us expected. People grow up, folks. Young basketball players improve as they get older. I know not everyone likes him to shoot from outside but I have watched a whole bunch of big guys get better and better from the outside. This makes him a huge headache to defend. Note I didn't say he should resort to this shot all the time or anything like that. He has a spot on the left baseline. He can hit from straight on. He then has a bag of tricks near the rim. He can't shoot from everywhere but if he settles on the two spots I have mentioned, he could become a great shooter.
I have said it years before when Cuz made dumb mistakes and that is to let him go; let him make mistakes; let him find his own ceiling. I don't think any of us, especially back a few years, could presume to know his ceiling.
Cuz is becoming what a lot of us expected. People grow up, folks. Young basketball players improve as they get older. I know not everyone likes him to shoot from outside but I have watched a whole bunch of big guys get better and better from the outside. This makes him a huge headache to defend. Note I didn't say he should resort to this shot all the time or anything like that. He has a spot on the left baseline. He can hit from straight on. He then has a bag of tricks near the rim. He can't shoot from everywhere but if he settles on the two spots I have mentioned, he could become a great shooter.I have said it years before when Cuz made dumb mistakes and that is to let him go; let him make mistakes; let him find his own ceiling. I don't think any of us, especially back a few years, could presume to know his ceiling.
I would actually love to see the general draft thread from that year, as I was a huge fan of Cuz after the season got underway. It just became clearer and clearer that he had a huge amount of talent. Myself and Baja (and others I'm sure) regularly discussed him. [gloating] Any way to find it? The search function doesn't work too well IMO.
This is the best I could do.
http://www.kingsfans.com/threads/kings-draft-cousins.37595/
I couldn't find a general draft-day thread.
http://www.kingsfans.com/threads/kings-draft-cousins.37595/
I couldn't find a general draft-day thread.
You might find these interesting:
http://www.kingsfans.com/threads/would-you-draft-cousins-at-5.37273/
http://www.kingsfans.com/threads/demarcus-cousins.37163/
http://www.kingsfans.com/threads/how-would-cousins-game-fit.37007/
http://www.kingsfans.com/threads/would-you-rather-have-favors-or-cousins.36858/
http://www.kingsfans.com/threads/demarcus-cousins-headcase-story.36818/
http://www.kingsfans.com/threads/petrie-was-scouting-kentucky-today.35832/
http://www.kingsfans.com/threads/would-you-draft-cousins-at-5.37273/
http://www.kingsfans.com/threads/demarcus-cousins.37163/
http://www.kingsfans.com/threads/how-would-cousins-game-fit.37007/
http://www.kingsfans.com/threads/would-you-rather-have-favors-or-cousins.36858/
http://www.kingsfans.com/threads/demarcus-cousins-headcase-story.36818/
http://www.kingsfans.com/threads/petrie-was-scouting-kentucky-today.35832/
I can tell you exactly how I reacted. Never in my history of watching drafts have I broken into tears but I thought we had hit the mother load and I shed a tear or two. My wife didn't know what was wrong with me. Can't remember if I was online but I probably was. I saw an athlete in college who seemed to be able to do just about anything he wanted AND was a giant. I haven't thought about this carefully but I don't think there has ever been a center with this multi-faceted collection of offensive skills. Yes, there have been better who had a move or two (Kareem, Hakeem, etc.) and went on to better careers (I'm guessing) but none who seemingly could do it all. I saw hope for the Kings.
I still see hope for the Kings because we have a difficult position filled for as long as we want so it seems.
I still see hope for the Kings because we have a difficult position filled for as long as we want so it seems.
C
You could also say if he was better defensively, the team wouldn't have been in position to get blown out.
I see a lot of talent offensively. I see very little impact on the other side of the court. Weak defense from your center affects the team's ability to win more than weak defense at any other position.
I see a lot of talent offensively. I see very little impact on the other side of the court. Weak defense from your center affects the team's ability to win more than weak defense at any other position.