[Grades] Doh! Grades v. Jazz 12/11/2013

[Npliam]

Utah has no answer for him. I'm not sure other teams have an answer for him either but remember a game before where he absolutely abused Kanter. Kanter is a big guy but Cuz is almost all muscle.

Kanter can't guard him alone but Favors plays him really well.

 

[funkykingston]

So a game where the Kings were surprised to not have their new acquisitions leads to a flat performance where they lose to the worst team in the NBA.

Now they get exactly one game with Gay & Co against a surprisingly tough Suns squad before heading out on the road for 4 games in 5 nights with likely no practices in between.

Not exactly a recipe for success.

 

[Kingster]

So a game where the Kings were surprised to not have their new acquisitions leads to a flat performance where they lose to the worst team in the NBA.

Now they get exactly one game with Gay & Co against a surprisingly tough Suns squad before heading out on the road for 4 games in 5 nights with likely no practices in between.

Not exactly a recipe for success.

I was thinking the same thing about the lack of practice time, but Reynolds made the point on the radio that there is more time to practice on the away games, whereas at home there are a lot of distractions. Also, we have heard that having several consecutive away games can bring a new team together. So I dunno about it one way or the other. The way I look at it, don't bank on cohesiveness or winning, but the effort, especially on the defensive end, should be there.

 

[Bricklayer]

Kanter can't guard him alone but Favors plays him really well.

Favors was a much stiffer impediment to be sure. You could see that was at least a battle rather than a slaughter in the early going. What's telling though was the degree to which Cousins came out against Favors after half and just scored at will anyway. The league is rapidly running out of guys who can make any claim to being able to actually shut down DeMarcus Cousins. He's going to need to go back and explain things to Bogut at some point, when he finally sees Hibbert it will be interesting against that defense. Maybe Chandler, although that defense has so completely collapsed I doubt it. You hardly go East looking for competition at the big man spots though. As I recall Horford and a bunch of doubling bothered him vs. Atlanta, so I suppose we'll have to see that rematch as well. But even in the last month Boogie has gone from being talented enough to dominate to gaining the conviction he just is going to dominate just about every night now. Once you have that conviction, it becomes doubly hard for a defender to throw doubt in your or your team's mind on the matter.

 

[Glenn]

Favors was a much stiffer impediment to be sure. You could see that was at least a battle rather than a slaughter in the early going. What's telling though was the degree to which Cousins came out against Favors after half and just scored at will anyway. The league is rapidly running out of guys who can make any claim to being able to actually shut down DeMarcus Cousins. He's going to need to go back and explain things to Bogut at some point, when he finally sees Hibbert it will be interesting against that defense. Maybe Chandler, although that defense has so completely collapsed I doubt it. You hardly go East looking for competition at the big man spots though. As I recall Horford and a bunch of doubling bothered him vs. Atlanta, so I suppose we'll have to see that rematch as well. But even in the last month Boogie has gone from being talented enough to dominate to gaining the conviction he just is going to dominate just about every night now. Once you have that conviction, it becomes doubly hard for a defender to throw doubt in your or your team's mind on the matter.

I credit Shaq with a lot of this. Ultimately, the praise goes to Cuz as it should but Shaq has been pushing him to be a beast. He has been pushing him to use his size and I presume even giving Cuz some hints but as I understand it, Shaq has been trying to ingrain in Cuz a mindset just as Jackson gave him a mind set. So, Cuz is a beast.

PJ used to say that the Lakers had a mismatch at one position in every game and that is at the center position. The Kings are arriving there if they aren't already there.

 

[pshn80]

Where do you grt info that Shaq is there and what he 's doing?

 

[Glenn]

Where do you grt info that Shaq is there and what he 's doing?

I read it somewhere and I don't have a link. I don't make stuff up. I'll find a link if I can.


This is part of it but not the specific quote I was referring to:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...haq-sacramento-kings-shaquille-oneal/2854625/

Here's the specific one:

http://kentuckysportsradio.com/nba-cats/shaq-talks-about-mentoring-demarcus-cousins/

 

[pshn80]

I read it somewhere and I don't have a link. I don't make stuff up. I'll find a link if I can.


This is part of it but not the specific quote I was referring to:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...haq-sacramento-kings-shaquille-oneal/2854625/

Thanks, Glenn. I seldom look at site references. Just curious where it comes from because I hadn't read anything in the paper about Shaq spending even a minute in the practice facility. Also, I just couldn't t imagine that he would spend a night in Sacramento.

 

[Glenn]

Thanks, Glenn. I seldom look at site references. Just curious where it comes from because I hadn't read anything in the paper about Shaq spending even a minute in the practice facility. Also, I just couldn't t imagine that he would spend a night in Sacramento.

Shaq is not working out with Cousins in the practice facilioty but is talking with him about the mental aspect of the game, the leadership part of the game. Shaq says Phil Jackson had a similar conversation with him.

 

[ppine]

Brick,
You are funny. Maybe you went a little too far with the age thing. My Dad is 89 and he thinks Paula Deen is hot. Ha.

I agree that Cousins is playing now like he has a mentor. Shaq is the perfect guy to work with on the mental part of the game. Shaq is very adamant about dominating and scoring 25 points and 16 rebounds a night, every night. Cousins is no longer a punk. It is official.