Our record (w/o Cuz) would indicate this to be true. IMO, there is no indication that Malone is getting anything out of his talent.
Gilles already pointed it out, but i have to ask: "Which talent?"
We are not talented without Cousins. That's it.
And to get the most out of a roster with mediocre talent level, the players have to have some chemistry and know each other well. Problem is, that we overhauled our roster in the offseason to some degree and the blind understanding can't be there yet.
You simply can't compare our team to the Spurs, who play the same core almost for a decade or even to GS, Portland, OKC or Dallas. With low IQ basketball players like JT, Reggie, Sessions, Dwill, Hollins and to some extent Landry, you won't get ever near the ball movement of the better teams in the league. These guys are journeyman, who carved out a role by hard work (not couting Dwill and Sessions here) and not by showing any real basketball talent.
Get Cousins healthy and continue to play off him for the rest of the season. And than take the next step and improve the roster, by keeping the core of DMC, Gay, DC and Ben.
For me this season is really fun to watch, no matter if we lose a ton of games without DMC. Kings are competing every game. They try to play as a team and focus on D and rebounding. It looks like every player is doing his best and that it's about winning and not about getting the best individual record. Huge step from last season and I'm very positive, that we can keep up improving given time and a few more roster moves.
Good times ahead of us. Just be patient and enjoy the ride.