Plus he carded a Double-Double [27 points and 12 rebounds] and did so with a shoulder injury.
Somebody tell Cousins he is not a point guard!!!!
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Plus he carded a Double-Double [27 points and 12 rebounds] and did so with a shoulder injury.
IT DIDN'T COST THE TEAM THE GAME.
Your "yeah, but it could have" is totally and completely irrelevant.
Okay, i'm done. Even the naysayers agreed that what I am saying is indeed true, just bad timing, I'll take it.
Tetsujin
The Game Thread Dude
Your semantics are wrong here. You're the naysayer in this situation. Most people's reactions after a dude's single-handedly carried a team to victory isn't to point out his flaws almost immediately after the buzzer rings.
I don't think its the OPs intention to kinda blame Cousins in any way or to take anything away from his production. He's very correct in saying that Cousins tries to bring the ball up a little too much at times. I personally don't think the timing of this thread is bad or anything of that sort. We just have to mark the difference between calling for Cousins to cut out this bad habit of his and "criticizing" him per se. The way I see it, if a basketball genie appeared and offered to improve Cousins' post game, we wouldn't say NO HE SINGLE HANDEDLY CARRIED US TO VICTORY HOW DARE YOU SAY HIS POST GAME IS BAD! Of course, OP could have put it in a way that better conveyed this idea as opposed to seemingly throwing Cousins under the bus after a victory.
Perhaps the greatest positive we can take away is that in spite of making a couple of these errors Cousins still basically carried us to victory. Now imagine if he could cut out these 1 or 2 slip ups per game.
Bricklayer
Don't Make Me Use The Bat
I don't necessarily disagree with the sentiment specific to this game -- there were multiple whoa whoa who whoa whoa! pass it big fella! lumbers in this one, and that final one took what could have been a tremendous game saving defensive play and could have turned it into a chance for the Suns to take the game at the buzzer with us no longer having any time to answer.
I do disagree with it as a general sentiment. Yes, he overdoes it sometimes. yes that should get toned down with experience. No he shouldn't stop exhibiting his handle. Its a weapon, and a unique one.
And of course after another monster game carrying us along and taking oodles of abuse in the process, its a bit like spotting a wart on Scarlett Johnannson's toe and starting a thread about how gnarly it is.
I do disagree with it as a general sentiment. Yes, he overdoes it sometimes. yes that should get toned down with experience. No he shouldn't stop exhibiting his handle. Its a weapon, and a unique one.
And of course after another monster game carrying us along and taking oodles of abuse in the process, its a bit like spotting a wart on Scarlett Johnannson's toe and starting a thread about how gnarly it is.
Kingster
Hall of Famer
No it's not. Maybe the timing the timing is off because they won, but the Cousins point guard nonsense has got to stop.
Kingster
Hall of Famer
Thanks for bringing the subject up. You beat me to it. I like Malone as a coach, but there is one huge freaking non sequiter in the Malone regime: Why does he allow Cousins to bring the ball up the floor? We saw it under Smart. We see it under Malone. It is nonsense and everybody knows it's nonsense. So why does it happen? He's not in kindergarten anymore. Not only is it bad basketball, it sends the wrong message to the rest of the team: there are special "Cousins rules" that others shall not follow. Unless we want to see Thompson play point guard? How about H? Yes, without Cousins the Kings would not have won. Hurray, we won. Despite Cousins playing point guard. When is Malone going to lay down the law?
C
Cold
Guest
Mike Malone actually wants his big men to bring the ball up and start the fast break. Bogut and Lee dribble up the court several times a night.
It's ok for DMC to do it he just needs to be more selective of when to and when not to.
Same with other Kings big men. It's not a bad habit. Just need better execution. Sometimes you deal with the increased turnovers if it makes team offense flow better.
Big men in the league are doing this more and more. However, there is a difference between a big man quarterbacking a fast break and dribbling around like a PG. I didn't see this particular play so I have no idea, but my general feeling is that under Malone you will see a lot of bigs bringing the ball up.
It's ok for DMC to do it he just needs to be more selective of when to and when not to.
Same with other Kings big men. It's not a bad habit. Just need better execution. Sometimes you deal with the increased turnovers if it makes team offense flow better.
Big men in the league are doing this more and more. However, there is a difference between a big man quarterbacking a fast break and dribbling around like a PG. I didn't see this particular play so I have no idea, but my general feeling is that under Malone you will see a lot of bigs bringing the ball up.
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Padrino
All-Star
indeed there are, and in fact there should be. he's the best player on the team by a rather wide margin. he's the franchise cornerstone playing on a max contract that he's already earning through ten games. he has tremendous gifts that few players his size have ever exhibited in the entire history of the nba. should DMC find a guard more often on the break? absolutely. age and experience will aid his decision-making in those scenarios. but should DMC be restricted from making use of his gifts simply because it's considered "special treatment"? absolutely not...
man, i don't know where some of you come up with this kinda logic. it's not about "rules" or equality on the court. this is professional sports, for goodness' sake. it's precisely why i'm happy that the new regime dumped keith smart without a second thought. smart tried his damndest to insinuate that this team had no exceptional talents, and that each player was on the same level. that is kindergarten basketball, friend, where everyone deserves a turn. well, it wasn't true then, and it's not true now (especially in the absence of tyreke evans, the kings' clear-cut second most talented asset before he was cut loose). without much in the way of talent around him, demarcus cousins is proving his worth at almost every turn. you don't refuse to rev up a muscle car on the freeway just because the lesser engines around you aren't as capable. that is nonsense...
Glenn
Hall of Famer
Since Cousins was a rookie I have maintained that he is an unusual talent where normal limits may not apply. I have always maintained that no man can tell Cousins what he is capable of and what he is not because no one knows where his limits are. He already has a collection of talents never before found in one human being so who REALLY knows where his limits are? He needs to find his own limits and that means trying a lot of what normally would be called dumb arse plays. In his rookie year he made a lot of bad passes. I never thought he should be told not to try a difficult pass. What is difficult for an average center may be second nature for Cousins. He had to find out for himself where his limits were and the bad passes diminished markedly. This is a very special athlete. To state the absurd, I suppose, we don't know if Cousins could be a pg. Just because no 6'11" 270 pound man has ever been a pg doesn't mean he can't. He needs to find out if he can do it as his limits need to be self imposed and not imposed from the outside.
No, I don't think he can be a pg but then dribbling the ball the full length of the court is not reserved for pgs so the thread title is mislabeled. I'm just following the theme of the thread.
No, I don't think he can be a pg but then dribbling the ball the full length of the court is not reserved for pgs so the thread title is mislabeled. I'm just following the theme of the thread.
Kingster
Hall of Famer
Oh, those ballhandling gifts are simply amazing. Rumblin, tumbling, bungling, look out mama, here I come... whoops, where did that ball go? It always amazes me when people defend the indefensible.
Padrino
All-Star
you don't have much sense for scale, do you? demarcus cousins is 6'11", 270 lbs. he's not going to look like magic when he gets out on the break. but the next time you see marc gasol do this, feel free to give me a ring:
yes, quite gifted, indeed.
I absolutely loved Vlade Divac as a King. But still I'd routinely yell at the TV, "PASS THE BALL VLADE!" when he tried to take it up the court himself. Sometimes no harm came of it, occasionally he'd make a nice play but often enough it turned into an unnecessary turnover. To a lesser extent Webber did the same thing.
Part and parcel of having a big man with a large and versatile skillset. They think they can do it all. And sometimes they can. When DeMarcus learns when to use his ballhandling skills and when he's better off passing it will definitely make him a better player.
Of course I would like to see less sloppy turnovers from DMC taking the ball himself, but you take the good with the bad right now. The nice thing about Cousins is that he's 23 years old and will make many improvements in his game (hopefully this one included) whereas Vlade was set in his ways.
I don't think there's anything controversial in the basic sentiment in this thread. Yes, Cousins needs to learn when to pass the ball instead of dribbling into trouble. But he's also playing like an all-star and so I think it's a bit odd to be calling him out for one aspect of his game (after a game that he carried the Kings to a win) when there are so many other issues with this team. That's all.
Part and parcel of having a big man with a large and versatile skillset. They think they can do it all. And sometimes they can. When DeMarcus learns when to use his ballhandling skills and when he's better off passing it will definitely make him a better player.
Of course I would like to see less sloppy turnovers from DMC taking the ball himself, but you take the good with the bad right now. The nice thing about Cousins is that he's 23 years old and will make many improvements in his game (hopefully this one included) whereas Vlade was set in his ways.
I don't think there's anything controversial in the basic sentiment in this thread. Yes, Cousins needs to learn when to pass the ball instead of dribbling into trouble. But he's also playing like an all-star and so I think it's a bit odd to be calling him out for one aspect of his game (after a game that he carried the Kings to a win) when there are so many other issues with this team. That's all.
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Kingster
Hall of Famer
Still defending the indefensible....
It's not indefensible. The defense is, he can do it, so let him do it. If anything, you bring in people that can help him refine his skill, and you help him with his judgement on when to pass, and when to take it all the way; you don't hold it against him that other centers can't do it.
Padrino
All-Star
you have yet to explain how it's "indefensible." you've simply stated so, as if that makes it true. however, such a descriptor requires more than your particular brand of deflection. DMC is a capable ball-handler on the break. his combination of strength, quickness, and deftness are assets, no matter how much you want to kick and scream over it. as demarcus continues to grow into his talent, he'll make better decisions about when and where to make use of his many skills. simple.
Again, given the quality of our PGs, I don't blame him one bit.
jalfa
Starter
currently our second strongest position, though, sadly enough.
Kingster
Hall of Famer
But he can't do it. So don't let him do it. Have him work on his inside game instead of his point guard playmaking skills. When it's a 50-50 proposition getting the ball up the floor, you don't want to take the chance. As Clint has said: "A man's got to know his limitations."
Glenn
Hall of Famer
I think this man has to find his limitations and neither you nor I know what they are. He's a unique athlete.
bajaden
Hall of Famer
TROLL!
bajaden
Hall of Famer
A man that knows his limitations, is a man that will never improve. Cousins is one of the best ballhandling big's in the game. If he wants to explore that part of his game on the floor, then so be it. To pick on Cousins, and not mention stupid turnovers by Vasquez, IT, McLemore, etc is ridiculous. We finally get a win, and Cousins was a huge part of that win. Do we have a thread praising him and the team? o! Instead we have this stupid, stupid, stupid thread picking on one play as a negative.
I don't question Cousins, I question the person that started this thread. He had to know it wouldn't be popular, and he had the chance to be negative in the last game, and in a couple of other games when Cuz didn't play up to expectations. Did he pick those games? NO!!!!! He picks a game that we actually won, and a game where Cousins played not only well, but we wouldn't have won the game if not for him. The word for that is Troll!!!!
I'm sorry, I have a bad cold, and I'm in a grumpy mood and not in the mood for unwarranted threads like this. This is the equivalent of a wagon train being surrounded by indians, and complaining that the cavalry got there a couple of minutes late. They should be grateful that the cavalry got there at all. There is a time and place for this, and this isn't it.
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Game tape suggests otherwise.
This thread is not created because of one play, he has done this for a long time. I didn't care if this thread would be popular or not, this is simply my opinion about Cousins. He gives me a heart attack every time he dribbles the ball up the court. We had one freakin win against an bledsoe-less Suns and you guys wanna act like everything is perfect, it's not. We should always be looking to improve.
Cousins is a dominant big man and making little changes like this can definitely help him improve his game.
Kingsfan23
All-Star
Definitely speaks to the sick handles Cuz has that we are even having this discussion. When I see the ~7 footer leading the break like that it seems kind of like a bit of egotism on Cuz part, like he believe he is a man amongst boys. I do however agree with the title. To his defense it doesn't seem like most of these instances lead to an outright turnover, but just guys in the wrong positions on the break
Glenn
Hall of Famer
Of course we should improve. Cousins is improving. Not sure how much can be done in a year.
I agree, he is improving. Not dribbling the ball up the court is an easy fix that can happen quickly as long as the coach demands it. Maybe Malone doesn't care therefore it hasn't changed.
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