DeMarcus Cousins is Averaging 30.0pts 12.8reb 3.9ast Since the All Star Break
- Thread starter Bricklayer
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Video game numbers. The Pelicans are having the same issues with Anthony Davis apparently, who they cannot build a team around and are severely underachieving. I know Reke has been out and he is their second best player, so it must be the coach huh? Back to the topic at hand, you can bang your head against the wall with these stats, we want wins. Normally this is the part I would say that the Kings would be better off with Boogie sacrificing shots but then I look at the roster and take that back. Who else would you rather shooting shots? Definitely not Rondo, Belinelli and company so you just take the god like numbers and losses as they come with it.
Very true. The most troubling thing about these once in a life time bigs is that the coaches arent swallowing their pride and playing thru their bigs correctly. Davis is a beast from the mid range, great Oop finisher and pretty good low post game yet Gentry has him playing at the 3 point line. They have the Stretch 4 in Ryan Anderson to create space for AD to work inside, yet they put him behind the Arc.
Same with Boogie, except he doesn't have the floor spacer like Anderson. Boogie should only be behind the Arc when 3's are necessary to get back in the ball game or when he is on a heat check. Dump the ball down low to DMC every time, trust that he'll pass out of a double team and when he is singled he will destroy anyone.
Both teams need to find the right talent/coaching for there team to flourish. Will be interesting to see which organization does it first.
Same with Boogie, except he doesn't have the floor spacer like Anderson. Boogie should only be behind the Arc when 3's are necessary to get back in the ball game or when he is on a heat check. Dump the ball down low to DMC every time, trust that he'll pass out of a double team and when he is singled he will destroy anyone.
Both teams need to find the right talent/coaching for there team to flourish. Will be interesting to see which organization does it first.
While Davis has gained significant amount of weight, and a lot of it muscle, I still feel he needs to add more weight if he wants to be more of a low post presence IMO. However, that would take away his advantage from a speed perspective and all that weight might be a burden on the knees too so that's always something to consider too when thinking about adding weight in the off season.
Not to mention he is averaging 2 steals and 1.3 blocks as well!
However, with the increased assist numbers, his A/TO has gotten worse. Five turnovers a game is way too much. He needs to work on bringing that down.
DISCLAIMER: In no way should this message be received as me saying Cousins is the problem. He is the furthest thing from the problem on this team. Having said that, even our best player/our franchise player has areas to improve on.
However, with the increased assist numbers, his A/TO has gotten worse. Five turnovers a game is way too much. He needs to work on bringing that down.
DISCLAIMER: In no way should this message be received as me saying Cousins is the problem. He is the furthest thing from the problem on this team. Having said that, even our best player/our franchise player has areas to improve on.
I would not take away the credit that Karl deserve in adding new facets to Cuz's game, especially allowing him to shoot from deep with license and letting him shake and bake his man then going for drive. That new arsenal made DMC more unpredictable and harder to defend.
But if only we defended the perimeter harder. Then opposing guards won't be walking home with their own 30 pt games every night next to DMC's stat lines.
We have our own dumb SG personels to blame on that as well. Either they bricks a shot or gets lost in their own head.
Regardless of that, it's another sad season. And no one but Cuz gets the finger pointed on, especially from the media and s0-so fans.
But if only we defended the perimeter harder. Then opposing guards won't be walking home with their own 30 pt games every night next to DMC's stat lines.
We have our own dumb SG personels to blame on that as well. Either they bricks a shot or gets lost in their own head.
Regardless of that, it's another sad season. And no one but Cuz gets the finger pointed on, especially from the media and s0-so fans.
Even so, 5 turnovers is still too much. That would be leading the league right now.
Besides, all of the turnover leaders (except Cousins) at least have a positive A/TO ratio. Granted most of them are guards & wings, but if you're going to have a high usage player on your team, you'd prefer them to have a positive A/TO. You want the players who have the ball in their hands most to be making good decisions with the ball.
Besides, all of the turnover leaders (except Cousins) at least have a positive A/TO ratio. Granted most of them are guards & wings, but if you're going to have a high usage player on your team, you'd prefer them to have a positive A/TO. You want the players who have the ball in their hands most to be making good decisions with the ball.
While Cousins is a good passer for a man of his stature, there are better passing big men in the league. You just want Cousins to make the simple plays and not the flashy plays. He doesn't need to be a 5 assist a game type of player, I mean...it's a bonus sure, but defense and composure is what gets it done with me.
Again, I understand that being a high usage player results in more turnovers. I understand that being a big man usually results in more turnovers. But 5 turnovers per game is too high for anyone.
Shaq only averaged 3 or more turnovers per game in 2 of his 19 seasons. The first one was his rookie season and the second one was when he was 35. Shaq was doubled more than anyone in the post. Keep in mind that 12 of those 19 seasons Shaw averaged more minutes than Cousins highest year and 11 of those 19 seasons he had a 30+ usage rate.
Shaq only averaged 3 or more turnovers per game in 2 of his 19 seasons. The first one was his rookie season and the second one was when he was 35. Shaq was doubled more than anyone in the post. Keep in mind that 12 of those 19 seasons Shaw averaged more minutes than Cousins highest year and 11 of those 19 seasons he had a 30+ usage rate.
What does that have anything to do with it? We're not talking about converting his passes into assists. We're talking about just making a pass successfully to a player when he is doubled or wisely deciding not to take a guard off the dribble or deciding not to be Magic Cousins in a crowd. We're talking about his ability to not turn the ball over. We're not talking about assists here.
What I meant by bringing up Shaq's supporting cast was when Shaq got doubled, he trusted passing to his supporting cast. He trusted that they would make the right play. Who does DMC had/have to trust? I'm pretty sure in his mind he understands there's probably a better chance of him beating the double then relying on Rudy to convert or Ben/others to perform a basketball play which will get the Kings 2 points.
Because Shaq knew Kobe/Wade/Nash would be able to get the team 2 points however they needed. So no we aren't talking about assists. We are talking about trusting teammates to be able to play without him once doubled, and they haven't shown that. Unlike Shaq's supporting cast that was able to play with him getting doubled.
Because Shaq knew Kobe/Wade/Nash would be able to get the team 2 points however they needed. So no we aren't talking about assists. We are talking about trusting teammates to be able to play without him once doubled, and they haven't shown that. Unlike Shaq's supporting cast that was able to play with him getting doubled.
And that's one of Cousins biggest flaws. He needs to take what the defense gives him and trust his teammates to make the right plays. The fact that Cousins thinks him going against 2 or 3 defenders is a better basketball play versus someone like Collison or Gay going against no defender is the main issue, and the fact that you're defending that type of play tells me all I need to know about your knowledge of the game.
Cousins is a great talent, and like I said earlier, the furthest thing that is wrong with this team, but even he has things he can improve on just like other stars in this league (Westbrook, Harden, Griffin, etc.). It doesn't mean he can't make a team successful. I'm just pointing out areas that can make a team more successful.
Cousins is a great talent, and like I said earlier, the furthest thing that is wrong with this team, but even he has things he can improve on just like other stars in this league (Westbrook, Harden, Griffin, etc.). It doesn't mean he can't make a team successful. I'm just pointing out areas that can make a team more successful.
Yes, it's a flaw he doesn't pass out more. But if you really believe Rudy and Collison to take advantage of what the defense gives them every time tells me all I need to know about your knowledge of the game as well. Which is why I said he'd be more willing to pass out if he had more talent. But that obviously blew over your head.
Your that person that told Kobe to pass more when his teammates were Smush Parker, Luke Walton and Kwame.
Your that person that told Kobe to pass more when his teammates were Smush Parker, Luke Walton and Kwame.
I know individual numbers continue to be discussed because, frankly, its the only bright spot to the season, but numbers only mean so much if they don't translate to wins. Yes, Cousins helps his team in the positive column, but they don't win. So, I really don't care if he's averaging 50/20 as long as this team isn't winning basketball games.
So now that I debunked the "Cousins vs two defenders is better than Gay/Collison vs no defender" argument you were trying to communicate, you're going to try and act like Gay & Collison's man never leave them? Looks like I have you on the run....
Actually, yes. It's happened on numerous occasions. And Rondo doesn't play 48 minutes. There are plenty of times when the 2nd defender is coming off a player that can shoot. Even if they come off Rondo, that just means you're giving Rondo access into the paint for either a runner, a dump off pass, an open shot, or forcing another defender to rotate over, and you're acting like Rondo is this god awful shooter. The man is shooting 36% from three this year. That's equivalent to a 54% shooter from 2. Cousins is shooting 47% from two this season, so yes, it's a much better play to have Rondo shoot an uncontested 3 than for Cousins to take a two pointer. It's simple math.
I've always liked this particular quote: “The way you handle double teams is you can’t fight them. That’s part of making your team better because it comes down to simple common sense. Do I try to score on two guys or do I pass the ball to an open teammate? There are guys who try to fight the double team and only two things can happen and they’re both bad. You can either take a bad shot and miss or you can turn the ball over.”
Sound familiar? Cousins is so talented that he can get away with it here and there, but if he wants to get to that next level, this is the next step for him.
I also like the story I heard about Popovich on calling plays for Leonard. Leonard was talking to a reporter and was explaining back when Pop first started calling plays for Leonard that Leonard's response was "so you want me to score?" Popovich replies, "No. I want the team to score."
This is exactly the mindset Cousins needs to have. Giving him the ball on the block or at the top of the key is not code for 'we're relying on you to score.' Cousins gives us the best chance at getting easy buckets AS A TEAM. If he gets there, he realizes his full potential in my opinion.
Actually, yes. It's happened on numerous occasions. And Rondo doesn't play 48 minutes. There are plenty of times when the 2nd defender is coming off a player that can shoot. Even if they come off Rondo, that just means you're giving Rondo access into the paint for either a runner, a dump off pass, an open shot, or forcing another defender to rotate over, and you're acting like Rondo is this god awful shooter. The man is shooting 36% from three this year. That's equivalent to a 54% shooter from 2. Cousins is shooting 47% from two this season, so yes, it's a much better play to have Rondo shoot an uncontested 3 than for Cousins to take a two pointer. It's simple math.
I've always liked this particular quote: “The way you handle double teams is you can’t fight them. That’s part of making your team better because it comes down to simple common sense. Do I try to score on two guys or do I pass the ball to an open teammate? There are guys who try to fight the double team and only two things can happen and they’re both bad. You can either take a bad shot and miss or you can turn the ball over.”
Sound familiar? Cousins is so talented that he can get away with it here and there, but if he wants to get to that next level, this is the next step for him.
I also like the story I heard about Popovich on calling plays for Leonard. Leonard was talking to a reporter and was explaining back when Pop first started calling plays for Leonard that Leonard's response was "so you want me to score?" Popovich replies, "No. I want the team to score."
This is exactly the mindset Cousins needs to have. Giving him the ball on the block or at the top of the key is not code for 'we're relying on you to score.' Cousins gives us the best chance at getting easy buckets AS A TEAM. If he gets there, he realizes his full potential in my opinion.