[Grades] Grades v. Rockets 2/25/2014

[The_Jamal]

Definitely listen to it if you can. He gives an extended rundown of his workout routine and explains how he's been able to carve out a place for himself in the NBA with pure passion and hard work. The guy is a real trooper.

Glad to have a quality guy like him on the team. Total blue collar work ethic. Has earned everything he's accomplished

You see it in the way Evans plays to. It was noticeable last night when we were down by 1000. Still out fighting for offensive rebounds.

 

[VF21]

If Cousins is going to get thrown out of the game, the least he could do would be slam into an opposing player (like Harden) and put him on his butt. Getting thrown out yelling at refs is the worst of all worlds as far as I am concerned. You leave no lasting mark on the opposing team other than a smile on their face. Harden got the best of Cousins, by far, in this little competition: Cousins is the cry baby and Harden is the winner.

I can probably count on one hand the number of times I have totally agreed with you. This is one of those times.

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

You see it in the way Evans plays to. It was noticeable last night when we were down by 1000. Still out fighting for offensive rebounds.

Absolutely. He won't quit. He's mentally tough, because he's prepared for all out battle every game...no matter what. There is no option deep in his mind, to "check out". Won't happen, because he decided within himself a long time ago, that he refuses to let it happen.

He said "he loves the game". He's passionate about always working hard to be effective at the game he loves. Pure passion drives his will to get a job done as effectively as he possibly can.

He was asked what makes him such a consistent offensive rebounder. What's his secret? He said, I always try to beat my man to the spot and I always "just go get it". He fights for every inch and always pursues the ball.

If you want to really change the "culture", you lead the parade with guys like him

 

[Glenn]

Absolutely. He won't quit. He's mentally tough, because he's prepared for all out battle every game...no matter what. There is no option deep in his mind, to "check out". Won't happen, because he decided within himself a long time ago, that he refuses to let it happen.

He said "he loves the game". He's passionate about always working hard to be effective at the game he loves. Pure passion drives his will to get a job done as effectively as he possibly can.

He was asked what makes him such a consistent offensive rebounder. What's his secret? He said, I always try to beat my man to the spot and I always "just go get it". He fights for every inch and always pursues the ball.

If you want to really change the "culture", you lead the parade with guys like him

I remember an interview with Rodman. He said he had a good idea where the ball was going to end up as soon as it left the shooter's hands. I suspect there could even be stats that gave a good idea where a ball might end up given a specific player shooting from a specific angle. All that being said, I think the great rebounders have the physical tools and some innate whatever that tells them where to go on the court. In other words, it's really not teachable except in the rudimentary ways like boxing out.

We need a Reggie Evans for now for several reasons.

 

[enigma99a]

OK, I've cooled down. The last game was very ugly. Said some stupid stuff about Cousins, but I'm ready for the Lakers on Friday.

 

[kingsnation]

the issue for demarcus cousins is one of timing, plain and simple. he would have been the perfect franchise center of the 80's or 90's.

I disagree. If Kris Humphries and Dwight Howard can make Cousins lose his mind, imagine what Hakeem, Admiral, Kareem, Ewing and Shaq would make him do.

 

[Kingster]

He's got to grow past the persecution complex and just accept that life is never going to be fair. The important thing for Cousins to realize is -- if you go out there and do your job, there's not a lot of other players that can stop you. It seemed like he was getting that this season. He's had a bug up his ass since the All Star break though which maybe has something to do with being snubbed and maybe has something to do with sticking up for his budy Marcus Thornton and maybe has something to do with the team committing to "development" the rest of the season. I'm not sure what it is really, but he's looked like he's angling for a fight since we came back from the break and it just boiled over last night into a complete meltdown. We'll see how everyone responds this time. It gets a little tiresome but again, I don't think we can afford to give up on a player that talented when we really have nothing else going right now.

I think this is the crux of the matter with Cousins. He needs to stop with the injustice of it all mentallity, the unfairness of it all mentallity. Just stop with the victim mentallity. This is what kids do: Go to their parents to arbitrate disputes between their siblings and ask them to make the situation fair and just. Instead, he needs to fully accept that he is an adult and there is no mommy and there is no fairness - it's a dog eat dog world out on the basketball floor. So go out there and be the biggest baddest dog and forget about going to mommy if somebody took your panda bear. If you don't like a call, don't take it out on the ref. Take it out on the opposition! Hammer guys (like Harden) off the ball. Set a pick to lay out a guard. If he needs some help with the finer points of basketball warfare, he just got a great mentor in Reggie Evans who can help him with "the tricks of the trade" to exert his power on the basketball floor.

 

[ppine]

Eighty-two games is a lot basketball, and the NBA is much more physical than people realize. I like Kingster's posts that talk about basketball warfare. It is really mental warfare. Confidence and dominance are hard to get and easy to lose on the floor. Cousins is young and he is immature for his age. His style of play which is very horizontal or lateral, works against him. He plays through people down low, takes charges and likes to mix it up. He has spent his whole life being the biggest, strongest guy out there. There are plenty of people in the NBA his size and many that are stronger. It pisses him off. IF YOU ARE GOING TO BE A PHYSICAL TYPE PLAYER, YOU NEED TO KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT AND POINT AT THE SCOREBOARD.

I was an under-sized center and forward in high school and industrial leagues. We played street ball for money. It takes a lot of attitude to play under those conditions. It is alright for the emotion to be there, but you have to control it. Rebounding as an example, is mostly about position. You have to own the spot where you think the ball is going to go. Rodman is a flake, but the greatest rebounder in history, because of hard work and his willingness and desire to own spots on the floor.

There are two types of players that Cousins cannot mentally handle. One type is the physical, banger, get in the way type of player that makes contact all the time. Gortat is a really big angular guy that is hard to move. Humphries is not as big but has great lower body strength. The second type is Howard. The new and improved version of this guy has a left hand, good footwork, and he can jump. He gave Cousins fits and made him look bad. I contend that Cousins has a huge ego, and cannot stand to look bad. That is why so many unremarkable plays hit nerves with him and make him act out.

Cousins was left off the all-star team because of his weak character, not because of his ability or lack of it. Moving forward, he would benefit from some sessions with a psychologist to figure where his rage really comes from.ie he resents authority (refs), he feels inferior because of his upbringing, he pouts when others make him look bad, etc. etc. He needs to play Shaq one on one for about 2 1/2 hours and then listen to what Shaq has to say to him. Everyone, especially the FO knew they were taking a gamble to give Cousins his contract. He needs to grow up or play somewhere else. Personally, I would be willing to consider trading Cousins if it meant hanging on to Rudy Gay.

 

[Kingster]

Eighty-two games is a lot basketball, and the NBA is much more physical than people realize. I like Kingster's posts that talk about basketball warfare. It is really mental warfare. Confidence and dominance are hard to get and easy to lose on the floor. Cousins is young and he is immature for his age. His style of play which is very horizontal or lateral, works against him. He plays through people down low, takes charges and likes to mix it up. He has spent his whole life being the biggest, strongest guy out there. There are plenty of people in the NBA his size and many that are stronger. It pisses him off. IF YOU ARE GOING TO BE A PHYSICAL TYPE PLAYER, YOU NEED TO KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT AND POINT AT THE SCOREBOARD.

I was an under-sized center and forward in high school and industrial leagues. We played street ball for money. It takes a lot of attitude to play under those conditions. It is alright for the emotion to be there, but you have to control it. Rebounding as an example, is mostly about position. You have to own the spot where you think the ball is going to go. Rodman is a flake, but the greatest rebounder in history, because of hard work and his willingness and desire to own spots on the floor.

There are two types of players that Cousins cannot mentally handle. One type is the physical, banger, get in the way type of player that makes contact all the time. Gortat is a really big angular guy that is hard to move. Humphries is not as big but has great lower body strength. The second type is Howard. The new and improved version of this guy has a left hand, good footwork, and he can jump. He gave Cousins fits and made him look bad. I contend that Cousins has a huge ego, and cannot stand to look bad. That is why so many unremarkable plays hit nerves with him and make him act out.

Cousins was left off the all-star team because of his weak character, not because of his ability or lack of it. Moving forward, he would benefit from some sessions with a psychologist to figure where his rage really comes from.ie he resents authority (refs), he feels inferior because of his upbringing, he pouts when others make him look bad, etc. etc. He needs to play Shaq one on one for about 2 1/2 hours and then listen to what Shaq has to say to him. Everyone, especially the FO knew they were taking a gamble to give Cousins his contract. He needs to grow up or play somewhere else. Personally, I would be willing to consider trading Cousins if it meant hanging on to Rudy Gay.

Back at ya... I agree with everything you said. Unfortunately, the reports are Cousins won't talk to a psychologist.

I'm going to speculate a little about the FO. If you're management, how do you assess Cousins? How do you know he is in fact the guy going forward? How do you know if you should cut the cord, or even how long you should wait before making such a decision? You can't base it on your feelings of the moment, like the last game, when you might want to toss him in the ditch. You base it on data over the course of the entire year. I bet that that Malone and DA and maybe even Vivek meet regularly to talk about Cousins. It could be weekly, bimonthly, I dunno, but I bet it's a regular schedule they've set up. They didn't spend the max on Cousins without a plan. They didn't go into this thing thinking there wasn't a risk in their investment. They are watching those eggs very carefully. I also believe that they are keeping some meticulous records about all of Cousins' behaviors during the course of the season - during games, practices, etc. At the end of the season, they can then look in a dispassionate objective manner at the written record to see if in fact there has been "progress." If they do a timeline and his "incidents" are demonstrably less at the end of the year than the beginning, they can feel nice and cozy going forward with Cousins. If the timeline doesn't show any progress, they have to be concerned and go to a "code yellow". If his behavior at the end is worse than the behavior at the beginning, this it's full blow "code red" and the trade scenarios have to be put forth.

 

[whozit]

Wow! You would trade Cousins and build around Gay. You would want to take the risk of having the Toronto Gay? Cousins makes Gay better. He screwed up but can't you give him credit for improvement.

Malone went to bat for him, since his time in Sac how many of his coaches before did that? The smart thing to do was sit down and let the coach handle it. Instead he went to battle WITH his coach. It was a learning experience to know your Sacramento coach is going to bat for you and how to react.

 

[pshn80]

I think Cousins makes Gay a better player. Gay needs a star as a teammate particularly at a 'big man' position. So don't build around Gay without that other star. Concentrate on rehabbing Cuz. May be a tough job.

 

[Bricklayer]

Eighty-two games is a lot basketball, and the NBA is much more physical than people realize. I like Kingster's posts that talk about basketball warfare. It is really mental warfare. Confidence and dominance are hard to get and easy to lose on the floor. Cousins is young and he is immature for his age. His style of play which is very horizontal or lateral, works against him. He plays through people down low, takes charges and likes to mix it up. He has spent his whole life being the biggest, strongest guy out there. There are plenty of people in the NBA his size and many that are stronger. It pisses him off. IF YOU ARE GOING TO BE A PHYSICAL TYPE PLAYER, YOU NEED TO KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT AND POINT AT THE SCOREBOARD.

I was an under-sized center and forward in high school and industrial leagues. We played street ball for money. It takes a lot of attitude to play under those conditions. It is alright for the emotion to be there, but you have to control it. Rebounding as an example, is mostly about position. You have to own the spot where you think the ball is going to go. Rodman is a flake, but the greatest rebounder in history, because of hard work and his willingness and desire to own spots on the floor.

There are two types of players that Cousins cannot mentally handle. One type is the physical, banger, get in the way type of player that makes contact all the time. Gortat is a really big angular guy that is hard to move. Humphries is not as big but has great lower body strength. The second type is Howard. The new and improved version of this guy has a left hand, good footwork, and he can jump. He gave Cousins fits and made him look bad. I contend that Cousins has a huge ego, and cannot stand to look bad. That is why so many unremarkable plays hit nerves with him and make him act out.

Cousins was left off the all-star team because of his weak character, not because of his ability or lack of it. Moving forward, he would benefit from some sessions with a psychologist to figure where his rage really comes from.ie he resents authority (refs), he feels inferior because of his upbringing, he pouts when others make him look bad, etc. etc. He needs to play Shaq one on one for about 2 1/2 hours and then listen to what Shaq has to say to him. Everyone, especially the FO knew they were taking a gamble to give Cousins his contract. He needs to grow up or play somewhere else. Personally, I would be willing to consider trading Cousins if it meant hanging on to Rudy Gay.

Please stop posting such drivel on the board. It makes us all look bad.

BTW, it may interest you to know that Cousins badly outplayed Dwight Howard the first two times this season, and set his career high against Gortat. But yes, he truly is flummoxed by those awesome centers.

Now somewhere amongst the drivel was this one nugget of truth surrounded by do-not-get-itness: Cousins does indeed get frustrated by physical play, and that makes no sense since he plays more physically than just about any other offensive player in the league. If you dish it out, you damn well should be wiling to take it. In that way I think playing with refs might actually be a bad thing for Cuz. He spends too much time looking to them to win a battle he should just take care of himself.

 

[Kingster]

Please stop posting such drivel on the board. It makes us all look bad.

BTW, it may interest you to know that Cousins badly outplayed Dwight Howard the first two times this season, and set his career high against Gortat. But yes, he truly is flummoxed by those awesome centers.

Now somewhere amongst the drivel was this one nugget of truth surrounded by do-not-get-itness: Cousins does indeed get frustrated by physical play, and that makes no sense since he plays more physically than just about any other offensive player in the league. If you dish it out, you damn well should be wiling to take it. In that way I think playing with refs might actually be a bad thing for Cuz. He spends too much time looking to them to win a battle he should just take care of himself.

Make up your mind. He has a point about Cousins being bothered by physicallity... or he doesn't? He has a point about Cousins being overly concerned with refs...or he doesn't? So what exactly is your point? That Cousins might not want to play with refs? Are you uncertain whether he should play or not play with the refs? That it might be a bad thing? Are you uncertain whether it is a bad thing? Do you think that it's all just overblown? That it's much to do about nothing? What exactly?

 

[Npliam]

Please stop posting such drivel on the board. It makes us all look bad.

BTW, it may interest you to know that Cousins badly outplayed Dwight Howard the first two times this season, and set his career high against Gortat. But yes, he truly is flummoxed by those awesome centers.

Now somewhere amongst the drivel was this one nugget of truth surrounded by do-not-get-itness: Cousins does indeed get frustrated by physical play, and that makes no sense since he plays more physically than just about any other offensive player in the league. If you dish it out, you damn well should be wiling to take it. In that way I think playing with refs might actually be a bad thing for Cuz. He spends too much time looking to them to win a battle he should just take care of himself.

So I know you won't answer this because the lawyer in you won't let you ever answer a direct question but what exactly did you disagree with in his post?

 

[whozit]

Crud! Didn't know about the "punch."

Bryan May ‏@BMayNews10 4m
Cousins suspended/fined for punching Patrick Beverley in stomach & 4 verbally abusing an official & failing to leave court in timely manner

Marc J. Spears ‏@SpearsNBAYahoo 4m
Here is video of the Kings' DeMarcus Cousin's punch of the Rockets' Patrick Beverly. http://on.nba.com/1dFCeh7

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

He jabbed Beverly in the stomach as he ran past him. Unbelievable. He's now got a reputation for dirty plays against multiple players across the league. All kinds of different players, personalities, and players at different positions.

There's no rhyme or reason for it. It's pure bush league dirty play

 

[Spike]

Crud! Didn't know about the "punch."

Wasn't there an issue with Beverley last game?

 

[whozit]

I enjoy seeing well thought out, intelligent responses, unencumbered by emotion.

Sort of like Boogies punch. Probably will have as swell of results as well.

 

[Glenn]

He jabbed Beverly in the stomach as he ran past him. Unbelievable. He's now got a reputation for dirty plays against multiple players across the league. All kinds of different players, personalities, and players at different positions.

There's no rhyme or reason for it. It's pure bush league dirty play

I'm surprised it was seen. I thought it was well done. I wonder how many times he has been punched. I mean this as no excuse but crap happens.

 

[Glenn]

Let me add, maybe there is a way he can take advantage of having a reputation as an out of control animal. Certainly people are going to be careful when they come near him. Must admit it was a dirty punch. Still .......................

 

[whozit]

Wasn't there an issue with Beverley last game?

Dave Deuce Mason ‏@DeuceMason 3m
Why did DMC punch Beverley? Could have to do with game @ HOU when Cousins injured ankle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYGl12PQyG8…

 

[Spike]

Wasn't there an issue with Beverley last game?

Here it is...

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

I'm surprised it was seen. I thought it was well done. I wonder how many times he has been punched. I mean this as no excuse but poopoo happens.

All Houston has to do, is let the league office know that they believe a dirty play happened, and then they go through the game recording and see if it's there. It was and now he's suspended

 

[Glenn]

All Houston has to do, is let the league office know that they believe a dirty play happened, and then they go through the game recording and see if it's there. It was and now he's suspended

That makes sense. I still wonder if Boogie has ever been punched. It gets very violent under the hoop. People should sit there to see what happens.

 

[Glenn]

Let me add, maybe there is a way he can take advantage of having a reputation as an out of control animal. Certainly people are going to be careful when they come near him. Must admit it was a dirty punch. Still .......................

BTW, if anyone quotes this, I'll deny ever having written it. I wonder what Shaq's advice is in situations where someone is overly aggressive. I mean other than taking a swing at a guy's head (Brad Miler).

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

That makes sense. I still wonder if Boogie has ever been punched. It gets very violent under the hoop. People should sit there to see what happens.

Everything adds up. The league looks at reputation and even has a "list" of actions and dirty plays, even if they did not fine or suspend for each one of those. For example, his antics against Humphries in the Celtics game. They are very aware of players who are acting like a fool on a regular basis. Then they factor that into their decisions on suspensions and fines. With today's technology, nothing really slips past them. It's not 1985 anymore. It all adds up

 

[Chubbs]

Eighty-two games is a lot basketball, and the NBA is much more physical than people realize. I like Kingster's posts that talk about basketball warfare. It is really mental warfare. Confidence and dominance are hard to get and easy to lose on the floor. Cousins is young and he is immature for his age. His style of play which is very horizontal or lateral, works against him. He plays through people down low, takes charges and likes to mix it up. He has spent his whole life being the biggest, strongest guy out there. There are plenty of people in the NBA his size and many that are stronger. It pisses him off. IF YOU ARE GOING TO BE A PHYSICAL TYPE PLAYER, YOU NEED TO KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT AND POINT AT THE SCOREBOARD.

I was an under-sized center and forward in high school and industrial leagues. We played street ball for money. It takes a lot of attitude to play under those conditions. It is alright for the emotion to be there, but you have to control it. Rebounding as an example, is mostly about position. You have to own the spot where you think the ball is going to go. Rodman is a flake, but the greatest rebounder in history, because of hard work and his willingness and desire to own spots on the floor.

There are two types of players that Cousins cannot mentally handle. One type is the physical, banger, get in the way type of player that makes contact all the time. Gortat is a really big angular guy that is hard to move. Humphries is not as big but has great lower body strength. The second type is Howard. The new and improved version of this guy has a left hand, good footwork, and he can jump. He gave Cousins fits and made him look bad. I contend that Cousins has a huge ego, and cannot stand to look bad. That is why so many unremarkable plays hit nerves with him and make him act out.

Cousins was left off the all-star team because of his weak character, not because of his ability or lack of it. Moving forward, he would benefit from some sessions with a psychologist to figure where his rage really comes from.ie he resents authority (refs), he feels inferior because of his upbringing, he pouts when others make him look bad, etc. etc. He needs to play Shaq one on one for about 2 1/2 hours and then listen to what Shaq has to say to him. Everyone, especially the FO knew they were taking a gamble to give Cousins his contract. He needs to grow up or play somewhere else. Personally, I would be willing to consider trading Cousins if it meant hanging on to Rudy Gay.

This might be the dumbest thing I've ever read.

 

[Chubbs]

Make up your mind. He has a point about Cousins being bothered by physicallity... or he doesn't? He has a point about Cousins being overly concerned with refs...or he doesn't? So what exactly is your point? That Cousins might not want to play with refs? Are you uncertain whether he should play or not play with the refs? That it might be a bad thing? Are you uncertain whether it is a bad thing? Do you think that it's all just overblown? That it's much to do about nothing? What exactly?

You and ppine should just keep taking to each other.

It's much better that way.

 

[ppine]

Bricklayer will try but he won't be able to control himself.