Will Cousins ever figure it out?... [EDIT] I think we're seeing it!

[Merdiesel]

I caught the end of an interview with Kobe on Mike and Mike this morning.

He said something along the lines of how the great players play in the moment and let the game come to them. Not thinking about the last play, not thinking about what your going to do next. Just focus like crazy and play the game.

Cousins has shown no signs of becoming the guy we need. His negative attitude is hurting the team. He's not playing with a chip, he's spiraling out of control like an angry toddler.

He might not have asked for it, but when you are arguably the most talented big man in the game, your teammates, coaches and fans expect you to lead. He complains about not getting calls and acts like the whole world is out to get him and yet he has treated the refs like garbage since day one. He doesn't know how to play the game. The greats were respected by the refs. They'd might argue a call but they didn't constantly disrespect them every single game. They're human. I know emotion should not being something that comes in to play in officiating, but come on. If you keep staring at a guy like you want him dead he's probably going to develop a bias towards you.

If this team is ever going to climb out of the cellars, DMC needs to make a change big time. I really don't know if he'll ever get it. The fear of our beloved team being left in a pile of dust after Karl's fired and Cousins traded scares the **** out of me.

 

[rainmaker]

Interesting you bring up Kobe here, the guy who alienated and didn't get along with teammates until his late 20's, who had between 10-16 techs a year for 10 straight years during his prime, who got into multiple fistfights on the court, who PJax labelled as uncoachable in his book, who when surrounded by a poor team would threaten to leave the team and bash his GM in the media, who's ripped his teammates up and down in the media over the years, as an example of good leadership.

I'd also say, Cuz doesn't look healthy which shouldn't be a surprise given he just missed time with a back injury but also has taken steps with Rondo to become more of a leader as their relationship/meetings with Karl show. But it's not going to happen overnight. Jordan didn't learn how to lead until his late 20's either, same guy who was labelled as the league's biggest ballhog and who'd fight teammates in practice.

You know where we really lack leadership? Vivek. Vlade's trying to cover that up and fix this mess but that's where it starts. I see Rondo/Cuz fighting against a somewhat bad situation and picking the lesser of two evils, deal with Karl and attempt to make it work or support firing him and blow up the season.

 

[Merdiesel]

Interesting you bring up Kobe here, the guy who alienated and didn't get along with teammates until his late 20's, who had between 10-16 techs a year for 10 straight years during his prime, who got into multiple fistfights on the court, who PJax labelled as uncoachable in his book, who when surrounded by a poor team would threaten to leave the team and bash his GM in the media, who's ripped his teammates up and down in the media over the years, as an example of good leadership.

I'd also say, Cuz doesn't look healthy which shouldn't be a surprise given he just missed time with a back injury but also has taken steps with Rondo to become more of a leader as their relationship/meetings with Karl show. But it's not going to happen overnight. Jordan didn't learn how to lead until his late 20's either, same guy who was labelled as the league's biggest ballhog and who'd fight teammates in practice.

You know where we really lack leadership? Vivek. Vlade's trying to cover that up and fix this mess but that's where it starts. I see Rondo/Cuz fighting against a somewhat bad situation and picking the lesser of two evils, deal with Karl and attempt to make it work or support firing him and blow up the season.

I cant stand Kobe but what he said does make sense. Even if it doesn't apply to him and hes a hypocrite for saying it. The elite in any sport find a way to win and don't let their emotions control their performance.

I do agree that Vivek has done a miserable job so far leading this team. He's clueless when it comes to the basketball side of things. Guy coaches his daughters rec team and thinks hes qualified to heavily influence our lottery selection.

 

[Dime Dropper]

Worst OP in KF history? Has to be up there.

 

[Kingster]

Interesting you bring up Kobe here, the guy who alienated and didn't get along with teammates until his late 20's, who had between 10-16 techs a year for 10 straight years during his prime, who got into multiple fistfights on the court, who PJax labelled as uncoachable in his book, who when surrounded by a poor team would threaten to leave the team and bash his GM in the media, who's ripped his teammates up and down in the media over the years, as an example of good leadership.

I'd also say, Cuz doesn't look healthy which shouldn't be a surprise given he just missed time with a back injury but also has taken steps with Rondo to become more of a leader as their relationship/meetings with Karl show. But it's not going to happen overnight. Jordan didn't learn how to lead until his late 20's either, same guy who was labelled as the league's biggest ballhog and who'd fight teammates in practice.

You know where we really lack leadership? Vivek. Vlade's trying to cover that up and fix this mess but that's where it starts. I see Rondo/Cuz fighting against a somewhat bad situation and picking the lesser of two evils, deal with Karl and attempt to make it work or support firing him and blow up the season.

Has Vivek been undermining Vlade? Has he prevented him from doing his job, from the moves he wants to do but can't because of Vivek? I must have missed the news.

 

[kingwin]

Cousins didnt want play at all last night..You cant pick and choose when you want to be a leader and when you dont...you can blame it on whatever you want..

 

[Spike]

Cousins didnt want Nobody wanted to play at all last night..

fixed.

 

[gunks]

Dat altitude man.

I'm expecting a bounce back game.

 

[Henkel]

Worst OP in KF history? Has to be up there.

Great reply by you though. Really elevated the discussion.

 

[kingwin]

fixed.

Everybody isnt our best player or leader.

 

[Dime Dropper]

Great reply by you though. Really elevated the discussion.

Any post that has Cuz as the problem of this franchise doesn't even warrant a view, never mind a response.

 

[dude12]

Classic example of a hit piece.

 

[Bricklayer]

I caught the end of an interview with Kobe on Mike and Mike this morning.

He said something along the lines of how the great players play in the moment and let the game come to them. Not thinking about the last play, not thinking about what your going to do next. Just focus like crazy and play the game.

Cousins has shown no signs of becoming the guy we need. His negative attitude is hurting the team. He's not playing with a chip, he's spiraling out of control like an angry toddler.

He might not have asked for it, but when you are arguably the most talented big man in the game, your teammates, coaches and fans expect you to lead. He complains about not getting calls and acts like the whole world is out to get him and yet he has treated the refs like garbage since day one. He doesn't know how to play the game. The greats were respected by the refs. They'd might argue a call but they didn't constantly disrespect them every single game. They're human. I know emotion should not being something that comes in to play in officiating, but come on. If you keep staring at a guy like you want him dead he's probably going to develop a bias towards you.

If this team is ever going to climb out of the cellars, DMC needs to make a change big time. I really don't know if he'll ever get it. The fear of our beloved team being left in a pile of dust after Karl's fired and Cousins traded scares the **** out of me.

What in the hell brought this on?

In yet another season where WE CANNOT WIN WITHOUT DEMARCUS COUSINS.

For a guy hurting us he sure does a strong impression of absolutely the only thing separating us from being Kobe's current Lakers. Whatever his flaws, its not very tenable to tag the one guy who makes us go, the one guy who turns a terrible team into a .,500 team, a guy who has actually won the minutes he is on the floor, with being the reason we aren't successful. Aside from a tendency to get hurt, if this guy, who is supposedly killing us, never missed a game and played 48min per game, we'd have a winning record. Given that every minute and game he is not on the floor we go backwards from that winning record, I might suggest the more pertinent problems lie elsewhere.

Nor BTW has reffing been a huge issues or Cousins this year. There will always be conflicts, but he's 2nd n the league in FTs to only the flop machine down in Houston, and if you factor out the short games he's had this season that had nothing to down with foul trouble -- the half game vs. the Clips, the short game vs. the Lakers because we were blowing them out, the short game last night because we got blown out -- he's averaging 36 minutes a night in the others, which is easily a career high.

We haven't suffered this season because of DeMarcus. And DeMarcus hasn't suffered (much) this season due to the refs.

 

[Albatros]

Any post that has Cuz as the problem of this franchise doesn't even warrant a view, never mind a response.

Why did you respond then?

 

[HndsmCelt]

Perhaps we can have one continual "Cousins is... (Headcase, the problem,killing the team, etc.)" thread, rather than creating new versions of the same old song and dance after every loss. Just a thought.

 

[Dime Dropper]

Why did you respond then?

Touché.

It had to be called out for the emotional, irrational BS that it is.

 

[Dime Dropper]

What in the hell brought this on?

In yet another season where WE CANNOT WIN WITHOUT DEMARCUS COUSINS.

For a guy hurting us he sure does a strong impression of absolutely the only thing separating us from being Kobe's current Lakers. Whatever his flaws, its not very tenable to tag the one guy who makes us go, the one guy who turns a terrible team into a .,500 team, a guy who has actually won the minutes he is on the floor, with being the reason we aren't successful. Aside from a tendency to get hurt, if this guy, who is supposedly killing us, never missed a game and played 48min per game, we'd have a winning record. Given that every minute and game he is not on the floor we go backwards from that winning record, I might suggest the more pertinent problems lie elsewhere.

Nor BTW has reffing been a huge issues or Cousins this year. There will always be conflicts, but he's 2nd n the league in FTs to only the flop machine down in Houston, and if you factor out the short games he's had this season that had nothing to down with foul trouble -- the half game vs. the Clips, the short game vs. the Lakers because we were blowing them out, the short game last night because we got blown out -- he's averaging 36 minutes a night in the others, which is easily a career high.

We haven't suffered this season because of DeMarcus. And DeMarcus hasn't suffered (much) this season due to the refs.

Cousins argues with refs though, and scowls. How can you support such a monster? Trade the one guy that makes us good IMMEDIATELY.

 

[VF21]

Oh please.

I'm closing this for the simple reason it doesn't contain anything different than a myriad of other threads, except for the Kobe reference.

EDIT: I reopened this and AFAIC this can become the one and only DMC Complaint thread, as suggested above.

 

[IfAt1st]

It needs to be retitled, then.

Something like "Master list of complaints about Boogie"

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

If at any point the Kings have fantasies about becoming a championship contender,...they better find a better "cast of characters" to lead the franchise.

They have one man and one woman who are qualified and ready for the challenge....right now. Vlade and Nancy

 

[k_dubb90]

Only thing I gotta say about cousins is that, he's not leader material. He's a damn good player but he's not a leader. We just look at him like that becuase he's one of the best players in the league

 

[Merdiesel]

Cousins argues with refs though, and scowls. How can you support such a monster? Trade the one guy that makes us good IMMEDIATELY.

Makes us good? lol
Talking all that ****, now this is some real BS. What exactly is your definition of good?
This team hasn't been good in nearly a decade and this roster is a long way away from being considered good.

Also, just to make things clear, I never said I wanted DMC traded (I'm completely against it). I also never said he was the single problem with this franchise. Don't put words in my mouth. There are a lot of problems with this franchise. I just believe that DMC's problems can be fixed by him. I think there is another level to his game, maybe that level takes some pressure off the rest of the team. Not getting back on defense to complain a foul hurts this team. Getting frustrated and letting that frustration affect your game (forced shots/cheap fouls) hurts the team.

 

[Blob]

I caught the end of an interview with Kobe on Mike and Mike this morning.

He said something along the lines of how the great players play in the moment and let the game come to them. Not thinking about the last play, not thinking about what your going to do next. Just focus like crazy and play the game.

Cousins has shown no signs of becoming the guy we need. His negative attitude is hurting the team. He's not playing with a chip, he's spiraling out of control like an angry toddler.

He might not have asked for it, but when you are arguably the most talented big man in the game, your teammates, coaches and fans expect you to lead. He complains about not getting calls and acts like the whole world is out to get him and yet he has treated the refs like garbage since day one. He doesn't know how to play the game. The greats were respected by the refs. They'd might argue a call but they didn't constantly disrespect them every single game. They're human. I know emotion should not being something that comes in to play in officiating, but come on. If you keep staring at a guy like you want him dead he's probably going to develop a bias towards you.

If this team is ever going to climb out of the cellars, DMC needs to make a change big time. I really don't know if he'll ever get it. The fear of our beloved team being left in a pile of dust after Karl's fired and Cousins traded scares the **** out of me.

It is easy to get caught up in his personality because it dominates the room. But that clouds the issue. Two things (1) Boogie is not moving well. He's lumbering and wobbled and hobbled. He's a bit heavy or nursing nagging Achilles or back or all of the above, but he doesn't look right physically. (2) He is not respecting the game with lazy and weak moves.

Refs reward the player who gains an edge on the opponent. Not the player who bullies a man entitled to his space on the floor and expects bail out call. The latter is what Boogie does too often. The great ones, LeBron and Duncan and KD take consistently high percentage shots without begging for a call. If Boogie wants to be in this group, an elite player, to earn the label of "best big in the game" bestowed upon him, then his shot selection and patience and savvy needs to improve.

I am not even talking about percentage of makes, I am talking about quality of shot, though focusing on the latter tends to take care of the former.

The off-the-court BS and the scowls and mopping are negative factors too, but the larger issue is physically and mentally he has room to grow, independent of his volatile temper. Last game was terrible for Boogie and even the game vs Mavs had a lot of the instances to which I am referring, in which he was fairly dominant, which goes to show how talented he is.

Even though it was a loss and he left with back injury the last really good game Boogie played was Charlotte, in which he made 13-21 FGs and made prudent shot selections. We haven't seen enough of this and it is one reason we are 7-13 or whatever our under-achieving record is.

So when I analyze Boogie yeah I'd like to see him act more maturely but all thing being equal I'd rather see him play smarter ball.

 

[kingsboi]

I think your trying to grasp something in the air that isn't there. How can you come out and randomly start bashing Cousins? We know the dead horse has been beaten to death about his attitude and complaining. That's who he is...will he ever change? We can't say...in the mean time, the problems that are lingering more than anything should be the teams overall effort on defense and being unable to string together multiple games of decent to average defensive effort to give themselves a chance to win some ball games when the offense isn't clicking.

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

Only thing I gotta say about cousins is that, he's not leader material. He's a damn good player but he's not a leader. We just look at him like that becuase he's one of the best players in the league

Agreed. Just because someone is your best player, doesn't necessarily mean they should be the designated leader. Having him walk out to center court and address the fans, as if he's going to inspire anyone with his leadership qualities,...quite frankly, it's rediculous and a 'joke'. All the players know it is. This is directly tied to that "confused" feeling that it's in the air, so often. It doesn't make any sense

Vlade should be the one addressing the fans, whenever that moment is appropriate, like at the home opener

 

[IfAt1st]

With the original thread title of "Will he ever figure it out? I don't know..." I originally (and still do when I see it) think the thread is about Karl's obliviousness to his repeated coaching failings.

 

[VF21]

With the original thread title of "Will he ever figure it out? I don't know..." I originally (and still do when I see it) think the thread is about Karl's obliviousness to his repeated coaching failings.

Okay, I modified it.

 

[Entity]

Again only 4 losses with Demarcus available for the full game. 3 of those losses against deep playoff teams in fact 3 top 10 teams in the NBA

 

[VF21]

Again only 4 losses with Demarcus available for the full game. 3 of those losses against deep playoff teams in fact 3 top 10 teams in the NBA

You're wasting your breath. Those who want to blame Cousins are not going to be deterred by silly things like game results. The only reason this thread is here is so that, much like the single IT thread from days gone by, we won't keep seeing new threads by different people saying the same thing.

 

[DeMoN]

Cousin's has a little leeway because hes so dominant. That being said, i feel like that conversation is all smoke and mirrors. MJ might be one of the biggest assholes on the court, but he wins more than anyone ever has, at his skill level. Winning cures all. when you lose, the errors come out, like the Lakers this season. Kobe is just taking hits left and right. Nothing changed from when he was bringing in titles. Except maybe Laker fans hyping Kobe just a tad. Cousins has improved tremendously and i feel like saying he is a problem in that area is too much of a sleight considering where he started.