[Grades] Grades v. Bobhornets 1/4/2014

[ppine]

I would be more worried about the team if they weren't yelling at each other.
The team at this point, remind me a lot of the forum members, frustrated, disjointed and having a hard time seeing the goals beyond the next five games.

If 80 % of the forum members really believe that the Kings' defense is doomed, the forum starts to become a waste of time.

The NBA is full of talented players that take advantage of every weakness. It takes time for players to understand what their teammates are good at on defense, and even longer to trust that they will be doing the right thing.

Jefferson seems to have little trouble eating Cousins alive last night. Why don't people talk more about that?

 

[fansinceday1]

My wife sat down by the kings bench last night and was shocked at how much boogie was getting "punched" (her words) and nothing was getting called. She said boogie was really trying to contain himself and towards the end he was absolutely besides himself.
That was the first time she really concentrated on watching cousins. I'm actually surprised that cousins hasn't completely lost his mind and cold cocked someone. You can tell teams are really trying to push cousins into completely losing it.

 

[pshn80]

Eventually it could reach a point of trading everyone away other than Cousins

....... or trade Cousins. Alternatives, alternatives. Maybe he wan't ready for team leadership. Let's try
JT, we haven't anything to lose. Oh well, status quo, we have another game on Tuesday and my next game is Friday and they will probably be cured by then.

 

[DesertFox]

My (least) favorite play was that IT/Acy/Williams mix up. Grant/Jerry were ready to talk about how IT got screwed by his teammates not helping, and then on the replay IT wasn't even picked off. He just sort of trailed off, and the announcers did the same. IT was blowing up for his teammates not rotating on a play where he wasn't even screened off. Silly.

IT has done a great job of improving his offensive production, he can score from anywhere on the floor efficiently, but I'm ready to move on.

 

[Siranthony]

All of this disfunction is the responsibility of this organization and it's leadership. These things should not be happening. Our team looks frustrated. They play too hard and are stressed out.

 

[pshn80]

And I would guess that you would be guessing wrong.

Just to be clear I think cuz is the only sure future piece for this team and I don't have a problem with him calling out teammates. Just concerned with how he might deliver those messages.

How can he deliver a serious message when he is arguing with a ref or fuming. Make no mistake, he has a long way to go.

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

How can he deliver a serious message when he is arguing with a ref or fuming. Make no mistake, he has a long way to go.

How about try playing a game or two, where he says nothing to the refs. Nothing at all. I think he'd gain a lot of respect and as a result, a more fair shake on a calls.

I wasn't a Shaq fan, but one thing I really liked about his game was that he rarely got involved with officials

 

[New Era]

I'm starting to get a bit concerned about DMC and I wonder if he will EVER get along with his teammates and earn their respect. Sure, he puts up incredible numbers, but he's not dominant on the defensive side and he's not good enough to single handedly make a team into a winner (like a LeBron, Kobe, Durant, Paul, etc. can do). He's shown over the years that he doesn't seem to be well liked among his teammates. He doesn't come across as a leader type.

Now I know that losing takes a toll on everybody and he takes it especially hard but here's the thing -- even if we were a winning team, these issues could easily still be a problem because last time I checked, only 1 team per year wins the NBA championship, so if Cuz got us to the playoffs and we were 1 and done, or 2 and done, or whatever, I fear that we may always have these issues.

I know I'll get blasted for this statement because this board is extremely pro-Cousins, but it is my belief that he is not well liked in the locker room for a variety of reasons. When your best player is not well liked, it's a recipe for disaster. You're going to have fighting on and off the court. You're going to have players playing selfishly, not putting the team ahead of their own stats and success. We have seen this happen this year, and we've seen it pretty much every other year DMC has been with us.

The problem is, I don't know the solution. He's probably not going to change anytime soon. We probably aren't going to trade him. I fear that we'll watch this sort of thing for another 2-3 years before management finally cuts bait, trades him, and moves on.

 

[TheFirstBandwagonKingsFan]

I think some of us should take a step back breathe deep and remember... at least we still have a team

 

[I~true]

I think getting rid of Cousins would be best. You can't win with a virus like him. That was laughable out there...two year olds.

 

[Spike]

I think getting rid of Cousins would be best. You can't win with a virus like him. That was laughable out there...two year olds.

I don't see IT winning us any games...
(I'm on to you. )

 

[I~true]

I weirdly had no problem with jimmer yesterday. He is in at tough situation though much of his own doing. He is a heat check guy plain and simple. He is no IT.

 

[I~true]

He is a head case but a valuable one.

 

[Glenn]

He is a head case but a valuable one.

Who? What? Headcase?? Please elaborate.

 

[fansinceday1]

How about try playing a game or two, where he says nothing to the refs. Nothing at all. I think he'd gain a lot of respect and as a result, a more fair shake on a calls.

I wasn't a Shaq fan, but one thing I really liked about his game was that he rarely got involved with officials

Have you been watching any games this season? DMC has controlled himself 100x better than at any time in the past. I'm really having problems with how the refs are allowing other teams to completely mug cousins with little repercussion. It's wearing on the kid and I don't blame him. I know some here want him to be a robot and just brush of the continued abuse but he's human. We can't expect him to go from a complete lunatic to a model citizen in one season! C'mon!
When we do trade cousins, and i do think we will eventually trade him, many on this board are going to freak out when he goes somewhere else and becomes a perennial all-star.

 

[I~true]

Our quote unquote best player. This team is an extension of him. Out there. Don't mean to be harsh, but then I kind of do.

 

[Glenn]

Our quote unquote best player. This team is an extension of him. Out there. Don't mean to be harsh, but then I kind of do.

I think that's a compliment. It's too bad all players don't follow him. Cousins has the backing of the owner and the coach. The players who don't agree with the owner and the coach can start packing their bags.

 

[I~true]

I think they will be happy to leave. Toronto players seem to be.

We are a reactionary team not just fans.

DC will never be a positive locker room presence and he will feel threatened by any one who is. He is a Bynum type with more skill. He can tease you into thinking he will turn the corner. I just don't think he will.

 

[VF21]

I think they will be happy to leave. Toronto players seem to be.

We are a reactionary team not just fans.

DC will never be a positive locker room presence and he will feel threatened by any one who is. He is a Bynum type with more skill. He can tease you into thinking he will turn the corner. I just don't think he will.

DC was Doug Christie. That's why we call Demarcus Cousins either DMC or DFC.

To be honest, I don't think the rest of your comments bear further response.

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

Have you been watching any games this season? DMC has controlled himself 100x better than at any time in the past. I'm really having problems with how the refs are allowing other teams to completely mug cousins with little repercussion. It's wearing on the kid and I don't blame him. I know some here want him to be a robot and just brush of the continued abuse but he's human. We can't expect him to go from a complete lunatic to a model citizen in one season! C'mon!
When we do trade cousins, and i do think we will eventually trade him, many on this board are going to freak out when he goes somewhere else and becomes a perennial all-star.

I've watched a lot of games. Yes he has improved, but he has a ways to go. He leads the league in technicals.

I'd simply like to see him start by not getting a technical foul for say 15 games in a row

 

[VF21]

I weirdly had no problem with jimmer yesterday. He is in at tough situation though much of his own doing. He is a heat check guy plain and simple. He is no IT.

Ah, I see. A lightbulb has finally gone off. I must be getting old.

Any coincidence I thought might exist since you chose "I-true" as your username has been dispelled.

So, let me get this straight. Demarcus is a headcase, a loser, a Bynum-like failure.

IT is ... well, there simply are no words.

Am I close?

 

[VF21]

I've watched a lot of games. Yes he has improved, but he has a ways to go. He leads the league in technicals.

I'd simply like to see him start by not getting a technical foul for say 15 games in a row

Ah, come on. You're not that fan.

If DMC was anyone other than DMC, he would have significantly few technicals. The officials are holding him to a much tighter standard than anyone else, much like they did with Ron Artest for a couple of years.

It's how Cousins is reacting that is important. Do you really think Shaquille O'Neal, regardless of how you might think of him personally, would be expending any effort at all if he didn't think the young man was worth it? Cousins is one of the reasons Shaq is now a part-owner of the team.

I have no problem with people criticizing Cousins, but at least be fair about your expectations.

 

[mac]

Ah, I see. A lightbulb has finally gone off. I must be getting old.

Any coincidence I thought might exist since you chose "I-true" as your username has been dispelled.

So, let me get this straight. Demarcus is a headcase, a loser, a Bynum-like failure.

IT is ... well, there simply are no words.

Am I close?

There are words to describe IT. Savior to the broken mess that is the Kings organisation, Champion of the underdog, Beloved of the world, Napoleon of Napoleons!

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

Ah, come on. You're not that fan.

If DMC was anyone other than DMC, he would have significantly few technicals. The officials are holding him to a much tighter standard than anyone else, much like they did with Ron Artest for a couple of years.

It's how Cousins is reacting that is important. Do you really think Shaquille O'Neal, regardless of how you might think of him personally, would be expending any effort at all if he didn't think the young man was worth it? Cousins is one of the reasons Shaq is now a part-owner of the team.

I have no problem with people criticizing Cousins, but at least be fair about your expectations.

I know it's possible for him to play just like he does now, but not get as "involved" with the officials. He just has to be fully committed to it. I don't think it's an unrealistic or unreasonable goal to not lead the league in techs

I think Shaq would agree

 

[I~true]

Ah, I see. A lightbulb has finally gone off. I must be getting old.

Any coincidence I thought might exist since you chose "I-true" as your username has been dispelled.

So, let me get this straight. Demarcus is a headcase, a loser, a Bynum-like failure.

IT is ... well, there simply are no words.

Am I close?

I'll get on my favorite player. Title and playoff wins are sparse throughout history with a guy his size, but with this crappy team he is refreshing.

DC is an incredible waste of talent. He who giveth, take the away. IT is all about expectations.

GV was sooooooo glad he got out of town. He kind of was the best defense of Jimmer. An ehhhh defender will struggle on a kind/Cousins team.

 

[mac]

I liked what we saw from Jimmer playing with Gay and Cousins. He got wide open shots, just missed them. Bad shooting nights happen, Ben seems to have them every night. But the point is that the ball was moving and we were getting good shots.

As many of us mentioned in the game thread, it's weird how we tend to just stop posting Cousins up. I notice this in particular when Jimmer is in the game. It's almost as if our gameplan shifts to try to feature Fredette as the focal point of the offense instead of just having him out there as a threat to hit open shots. Of course the defense probably also chooses to let Fredette beat them instead of Cousins and thus is giving him some of those looks. Point is we should be feeding Cousins inside no matter what. Use someone else as a screener up top!

 

[VF21]

Really? It's an exaggeration to say you spend a lot of your time on here praising/defending IT?

I don't really care. It just gets so no one can post any criticisms of IT without you or Kingster jumping in to defend him which then derails the thread into "Everybody leave IT alone". We get it that you see positives in his game and I think its great that different perspectives get shared on here. But is it necessary to spend so much time reacting to people that view IT differently? Probably goes both ways so I will be more conscious on my end.

Excellent point.

It's completely natural for passions to run high over the Kings. Some of the best debates ever posted on here were about Webber and Peja. What's unfortunate is that for some it's impossible to separate the post from the poster.

We're all just fans here. As far as I know, we don't have any NBA players posting on this board under any name. Some of us are a bit more outspoken but, for the most part, we're all here because we're passionate about the Sacramento Kings and want them to succeed.

I'm truly proud of Kingsfans.com We manage to have incredible discussions and very rarely do people step over the line. Pretty impressive when you consider the vast differences between us.

Can't we find a way to argue without it turning into some kind of neverending diatribe between a couple of members? I have a suggestion. If it's gonna be between the usual suspects, why not use the "conversation" system? Your debate with your nemesis will look just like a thread, you can keep it up forever, and the rest of us won't need to get involved.

 

[bajaden]

Cousins needs to suck it up, just like everyone else. It's not like he's Mutumbo back swatting shots away from guys driving relentlessly into the paint.

I had the job of grading Cousins. I was hampered by NBA TV not showing the game until the 5 minute mark of the 1st quarter, but I thought Cousins, except for a couple of mistakes, played Jefferson as well as he could without outright tackling him. For example, just about every time Cousins touched the ball in the post, he was doubled, and a few times tripled. You tell me, how many times did we use help defense on Jefferson? Cousins, for the most part was asked to go one on one with Jefferson. To say someone played bad defense, means he wasn't in the right place, or didn't rotate when he was supposed to. Cousins did what he was supposed to do. Unfortunately, that didn't stop Jefferson, who in case no one knows, is one of the best post players in the NBA.

You've got your blinders on when it comes to IT. IT is what he is, and a good defender is not one of the things he is. Now I can excuse some players shooting over him. He can't do much about that. But when he misses rotations, then its on him. Example, in the second quarter, he and Jimmer were on the floor together. IT was guarding Sessions at the time if memory serves. IT got caught in a pick, and Jimmer switched to cover Sessions, only to find that IT, after clearing the pick, came back to Sessions, leaving Jimmers man wide open in the right corner. What followed was Jimmer running madly at his man who made a three. Now IT had a legit gripe when he got beat off the dribble by Walker, without a pick I might add, and no one came to stop the ball as Walker just waltzed to the basket. Not sure who missed the call, but it was either Williams or Acy. But here's the harsh reality. Walker owned IT all night long, and if you can't see that, then I don't know what you were watching.

The truth is, just about everyone contributed to the poor defense. Gay got beat a few times by CDR. Acy, who probably played the best on defense, missed a couple of rotations, or at least was late on a couple. Cousins lost Jefferson twice and Jefferson hit 12 foot jumpers both times. Jimmer didn't fare well against Sessions. McLemore had some good moments, and he had some very bad moments. In short, it was a team effort. There is a serious lack of trust out there on the defensive end. Players don't like being hung out to dry. Its all based on trust.

 

[I~true]

This is an awesome site and I cling to the hope that I'm wrong about DC...I just doubt it.

We all like underdogs and maybe with little to cheer for I like IT so much. Heck I still want jimmer to do well.

I think it makes me more frustrated with DC and his lack of leadership. He is still leading the league in T's correct?

 

[VF21]

I know it's possible for him to play just like he does now, but not get as "involved" with the officials. He just has to be fully committed to it. I don't think it's an unrealistic or unreasonable goal to not lead the league in techs

I think Shaq would agree

We're totally on the same page in that regard. I guess I'm just a little more forgiving because I've made an effort to watch Cousins, both in person at games and on TV, to see for myself if he's changed. IMHO he has. It's almost unbelievable to sit in Sleep Train and just see how badly DMC is mugged virtually without pause. I cannot recall any other time when a player was on the receiving end of so many uncalled fouls. He's a punching bag out there a lot of the time and the officials simply look the other way. If he got all the calls he deserves he'd spend half the night at the line.

Having said that, I think Shaq is going to be a big help to him in that regard because Shaq, too, was the victim of a lot of contact that would have been a called foul had it occurred with any other player. DMC needs to learn to just accept that as part of the price he's gonna pay for becoming the greatest big man in the game today.