Training Camp updates

[mac]

So would Pau, Dirk, Yao, Timmy, Kaman, Big Z, Okur, Vlade, CWebb ... ya know, all those bigs that never took outside shots...

I doubt he's gonna be camped out there like Hawes, but from the looks of it, he's got a better shot anyway. If Cuz can hit them, and it just on occasion, what's the big deal if the coaching staff is cool with it? Especially if Dally is on the court at the same time.

If it won't effect his rebounding, and he still gets in on D and bangs, why wouldn't you be cool with that?

Just wondering at which point in my post did I say that I wasn't happy with Cousins/ "wouldn't be cool with that"

 

[funkykingston]

The two most interesting parts of that video to me were:
(1) His praise of Marcus Landry which seems very much to indicate an unhappiness with Casspi and Greene and also the desire to light a fire under both of them.
(2) PW clearly stating that Cousins can't guard PFs.

 

[kingsboi]

I can see why Westphal mentioned DC's inability to guard PF's. Most of them these days shoot jump shots and are fairly quick off the dribble so DC has no business being out on the perimeter for too long unless Samuel is in there to get his back when he gets beat to the rim. Let Big Cuz work on guarding the "big boys" of the league and gain strength and mobility and maybe down the stretch he will be able to atleast put in good effort in guarding the PF's of this league.

 

[D13]

Just wondering at which point in my post did I say that I wasn't happy with Cousins/ "wouldn't be cool with that"

The sarcastic part about "Spencer Hawes would be proud" kinda lent to the "wouldn't be cool with that" vibe... But maybe that wasn't meant as a cut and you really liked Spencer Hawes shooting, IDK?... I didn't take it as you didn't like Cuz as much as not approve of what he was doing. Feel free to explain what your post really meant though.

 

[Bricklayer]

The sarcastic part about "Spencer Hawes would be proud" kinda lent to the "wouldn't be cool with that" vibe... But maybe that wasn't meant as a cut and you really liked Spencer Hawes shooting, IDK?... I didn't take it as you didn't like Cuz as much as not approve of what he was doing. Feel free to explain what your post really meant though.

Three point shooting is a disease for a center/low post player. You don't ever want it to get a toehold because it can easily spread and kill the whole organism. Its a borderline worthless skill for such a player, even if they can hit them. All the little guys can hit them too. What the little guys can't do is rebound the misses and create spacing with physical post play. And neither can you while you're being lazy and farting around the perimeter.

 

[Kingster]

Three point shooting is a disease for a center/low post player. You don't ever want it to get a toehold because it can easily spread and kill the whole organism. Its a borderline worthless skill for such a player, even if they can hit them. All the little guys can hit them too. What the little guys can't do is rebound the misses and create spacing with physical post play. And neither can you while you're being lazy and farting around the perimeter.

And let me piggy-back a little here. Cousins will never come close to reaching his potential until he becomes a dominant interior scorer. Centers that stand outside don't get fouled. Centers that power inside do. That difference is huge in a game, especially by the 4th quarter, and especially in the playoffs. That persistent inside power game can change the whole dynamic of a game. If Cousins is standing outside he's by definition not getting experience getting better with his inside game. If I'm a a coach of a team opposing the Kings, I'm loving it if Cousins is playing outside because my center can attack him in the post and hopefully get Cousins in foul trouble whereas my center is less likely to get fouls on Cousins because Cousins is playing outside.

 

[D13]

Maybe I'm missing something.... exactly who should Cuz strictly model his game after that would win us a championship? Dwight? Bynum? Camby? Shaq? They can barely make a freethrow... of course they aren't gonna be outside. With his stroke Cuz could fit in as a 4 if needed even with another banger inside. Not saying he should camp out there.. Versatility is good.

 

[Bricklayer]

Maybe I'm missing something.... exactly who should Cuz strictly model his game after that would win us a championship? Dwight? Bynum? Camby? Shaq? They can barely make a freethrow... of course they aren't gonna be outside. With his stroke Cuz could fit in as a 4 if needed even with another banger inside. Not saying he should camp out there.. Versatility is good.

How about Shaq, Hakeem, Duncan, Admiral or any other great offensive big who has EVER won a title. Your examples of three point shooting centers winning titles are restricted to 1: Laimbeer, who was old and couldn't do much else at that stage, and averaged something like 11ppg for those teams. You win titles inside, always have. And when you have the ability to dominate in there, you use it. Having a jumper is no problem. A good thing if used as a secondary weapon. It lets you execute plays that guys without them cannot. Three point shooting is something else. That's garbage.

 

[D13]

How about Shaq, Hakeem, Duncan, Admiral or any other great offensive big who has EVER won a title. Your examples of three point shooting centers winning titles are restricted to 1: Laimbeer, who was old and couldn't do much else at that stage, and averaged something like 11ppg for those teams. You win titles inside, always have. And when you have the ability to dominate in there, you use it. Having a jumper is no problem. A good thing if used as a secondary weapon. It lets you execute plays that guys without them cannot. Three point shooting is something else. That's garbage.

I've seen Duncan put up 3's before, and sure there are some great bigs that only played inside... but some champ bigs have played an inside/outside game too ie; Garnett, Rasheed. But I hear ya... I wish we had an Hakeem too (maybe we do in Whiteside )...

For real, ya know its gonna happen... he is gonna jack an occasional 3. But if the coachs are cool with it so am I. Let's not get ready to crucify him.

 

[rainmaker]

I agree that Cousins should do most of his damage in the paint. I would hate to see him become a trigger happy jumpshooter, and will turn off the tv if I ever see him shoot a 3. But, he has a great 15-18 ft jumper. He will have to learn how to strike a balance between shooting jumpers and causing problems in the paint. Athletically,Cousins is nothing like Webb was. But his skillset is similar to what Webb brough to the table. In saying that, I wouldn't want to limit Cousins to being stricty a back to the basket type player because he does have a great jumper, and is a great passer as well. He should at some point command double on the block and find open shooters. But he should also get the ball at the elbow and have cutters run off either him or other screeners, and let him thread the needle. Of course, I see this happening with maturity, and not out of the gate. As Tyreke improves his slashing and off the ball movement, I fully expect a number of the passes he receives to come from Cousins.

 

[nickmcclure]

You have to wonder how much of Westphal's ambiguity is motivational tool, how much is genuine uncertainty, and how much is him just toying with the fans.

this.



I think 33.3% of each...

 

[nickmcclure]

will turn off the tv if I ever see him shoot a 3.

LOL I guarantee this will happen

 

[rhythmless]

I've seen Duncan put up 3's before, and sure there are some great bigs that only played inside... but some champ bigs have played an inside/outside game too ie; Garnett, Rasheed. But I hear ya... I wish we had an Hakeem too (maybe we do in Whiteside )...

For real, ya know its gonna happen... he is gonna jack an occasional 3. But if the coachs are cool with it so am I. Let's not get ready to crucify him.

in his 1000+ games, Duncan has put up 169 3 pointers. In comparison... Hawes put up 223 thus far. Garnett was quick enough in his earlier years to stay out on the perimeter. I remember him guarding 3s and playing sf on occasion. I'm pretty confident we cannot say the same for DMC. And Rasheed has been much criticized his entire career for going outside as much as he has, in no small part because he can dominate in the post against anyone. Sound familiar?

 

[funkykingston]

I've seen Duncan put up 3's before, and sure there are some great bigs that only played inside... but some champ bigs have played an inside/outside game too ie; Garnett, Rasheed. But I hear ya... I wish we had an Hakeem too (maybe we do in Whiteside )...

Tim Duncan has shot 139 threes in the regular season over a 13 year career. Rasheed Wallace shot more than double that (290) last year as a reserve. Big difference. The three point shot has never been a weapon for Duncan and there's good reason for that. It's his low post scoring that opens everything up for the other Spurs. Having a consistently solid 10-15 ft jumper is a great weapon for a big man. It allows you to step out and punsish defenses that sag off to protect the basket and it makes you a valuable asset in the pick and roll, something I hope to see Tyreke and DMC run a fair amount of.

But a big man that shoots threes is rarely more valuable than a guard that shoots threes. Most times he's less valuable becuase he's NOT in a position for offensive rebounds, he's NOT opening up the floor for other guys and he's NOT creating good spacing on the perimeter and he's NOT getting opposing bigs in foul trouble.

Guys who are great three point shooters really use the three for one of two reasons. (1) it's their bread and butter offensively and the reason they make an NBA roster - as a shooter or (2) it forces defenders to play them tight and opens up slashing opportunities. Cousins doesn't fit in either category.

The only reason I'd ever want a big who shoots a lot of threes starting is if the other starting big was a flat out dominant low post scorer and you wanted to clear out as much space for him to operate as possible.

EDIT: Too slow with my typing and rhythmless made a very similar point to start his post.

 

[Gary]

Maybe I'm missing something.... exactly who should Cuz strictly model his game after that would win us a championship? Dwight? Bynum? Camby? Shaq? They can barely make a freethrow... of course they aren't gonna be outside. With his stroke Cuz could fit in as a 4 if needed even with another banger inside. Not saying he should camp out there.. Versatility is good.

I would say a mix between Webber, Hakeem and Howard.. Without the athleticism.

 

[rainmaker]

At this point, I don't see anything which would suggest Cousins can play pf in this league. Moving him away from the basket negates his strengths, and highlights his weaknesses, the best example being his inability to guard opposing pf's away from the basket.

If you really wanted a jumpshooting pf, than you would pair that pf with Cousins. That could work. A guy like Cousins is what Dirk has missed all these years. A pf who can shoot can be great next to center who dominates inside. That could really spread the floor and open things up in the post. Personally I think JT will become that player, a good spot up shooter at the 4 out to about 20 ft.