DeMarcus Cousins - The new King of empty stats

[DiamondParoxysm]

You realize FG% assumes all shots are equal, right? Shows your level of basketball knowledge.

[DiamondParoxysm]

First Take stuff

[DiamondParoxysm]

Another "This guys sucks because he can't carry a bad team to the promised land" thread. It's not Cousins' fault the team is bad. Yes his shooting has been poor this season, but it's well below his career averages. There is no reason to expect it won't go back up closer to his career percentages. The 50% mark is an arbitrary mark for centers that doesn't really apply any more.

why did he decide to start jacking up 3 ptrs this year? not accusation, just wondering from the east coast.

Did Karl ask him to do this?

Because taking long threes is smarter than taking long twos. It's almost like one is worth more than the other.

[DiamondParoxysm]

Cousins shooting 4 threes a game at 31% only makes sense on a balanced team where there are plenty of other good offensive options down low.

However, Cousins is by far his team's best option in the post and inside, but he's jacking up threes. It makes zero sense.

Other than passing, Cousins' offensive numbers look surprisingly similar to prime Jermaine O'Neal, another perimeter oriented center who was horribly inefficient but was praised simply for scoring 20+.

it's almost like it's better to shoot 30+% from three instead of 33% from mid range. Wow amazing.

[DiamondParoxysm]

Last season, Kings fans insisted that Cousins had developed into a fine defensive player. Do they still make that claim?

Haralabos Voulgaris said he's a better defender than DeAndre Jordan. Haralabos Voulgaris is likely smarter than you.

[DiamondParoxysm]

I've got no argument with DMC making a huge impact on wins for the Kings. And the advanced stats love him, and indicate he is having a positive impact on the defensive end as well.

I just don't believe it's going to translate into playoff series victories unless something changes with him. Put him on a better team, and I think he'll find a way to screw it up. He'll do something like this:

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0smvr90xko[/youtube]

I agree that "empty stats" is not the right description for him. Troy Murphy was empty stats. Corey Maggette was empty stats. Cousins is an extremely impactful player but I just don't trust him farther than I can throw him. He'll rip your heart out.

haha i don't blame you for questioning his fit with successful teams. it's unknown whether he can or not.

[tiderulz]

Another "This guys sucks because he can't carry a bad team to the promised land" thread. It's not Cousins' fault the team is bad. Yes his shooting has been poor this season, but it's well below his career averages. There is no reason to expect it won't go back up closer to his career percentages. The 50% mark is an arbitrary mark for centers that doesn't really apply any more.

why did he decide to start jacking up 3 ptrs this year? not accusation, just wondering from the east coast.

Did Karl ask him to do this?

Because taking long threes is smarter than taking long twos. It's almost like one is worth more than the other.

why would he be taking long twos?

[GimmeDat]

DMC is a beast, no two ways about it. He may be on that 2nd tier of stardom like prime Melo, but I do believe that is enough to build a contender around.

I'm not worried about his FG% this season considering his prior couple of seasons FG% and the way he's scoring all over the floor, and on the sheer volume that he is.

[Nitro1118]

I love Cousins' game. As the poster above me said, he's closer to Melo than he is LeBron/prime Duncan/prime KG, but there is nothing wrong with that. Pair him with a great wing like Durant, George or Butler, and you can definitely contend for a championship.

I remember seeing him a few years ago in person at Philly, and was very underwhelmed by what I saw. I was an advocate of his through college/summwer league, seeing his potential to beast in the post, but in person he looked physically overwhelmed. He looked a tad sluggish, little explosition and kept getting blocked at the rim. It's great to see him develop his footwork so vastly to overcone these deficiencies, while improving his ability to finish through and above contact, and adding some key go-to moves that he can use when the going gets tough.

I'd love to see the Cavs throw Love out there as bait if Cousins starts showing distaste for the Kings organization again. I think he'd fit in great with that team and be the possible "small ball killer" they need to get over the GS hump.

[DarkAzcura]

why did he decide to start jacking up 3 ptrs this year? not accusation, just wondering from the east coast.

Did Karl ask him to do this?

Because taking long threes is smarter than taking long twos. It's almost like one is worth more than the other.

why would he be taking long twos?

To help space the floor on a few extra possessions per game.

[tiderulz]

Because taking long threes is smarter than taking long twos. It's almost like one is worth more than the other.

why would he be taking long twos?

To help space the floor on a few extra possessions per game.

just trying to understand why a coach would take his best post player, a beast down low, and move him out for spacing. Shouldnt they use other players for spacing?

[DarkAzcura]

why would he be taking long twos?

To help space the floor on a few extra possessions per game.

just trying to understand why a coach would take his best post player, a beast down low, and move him out for spacing. Shouldnt they use other players for spacing?

In the modern NBA, every player needs to contribute to spacing to some extent. If Cousins weren't shooting 3s on occasion, those possessions would still be used for long 2s instead. You can't have a player camp in the paint 100% of the time. Cousins posts up a ton anyway so I'm not sure what the big deal is having him step out on occasion? It's always a good thing to have the best spacing you could possibly have, especially in a case when they are running a play for Gay or someone other than Cousins so that player has room to operate because the opposition has to respect Cousin's shot. If Cousins didn't have a shot, and teams didn't have to respect it, the paint would be pretty clogged up on non-Cousins' plays, and that hurts the team more than it helps. IMO, it's a good thing that he takes a couple 3s a game.

In previous years, Cousins took ~23-27% of his shots 16 feet and beyond. This year he is up to 32%. It's an increase for sure, but it's not too different than how he has been playing for the last 4 years. He's finally doing the smart thing, though, and taking 3s and not long 2s. About ~65% of his shots come within 10 feet of the rim, and that doesn't even include the possessions where he got fouled. To me, the guy pretty much does live in the paint already. He takes about 13.4 FGA per game within 10 feet of the rim. For reference, Howard in Orlando took 11 shots a game in total where about 90-95% of those shots came within 10 feet. He's actually in the paint more often than Howard was back in Orlando. The difference is Cousins is capable of hitting jump shots so he gets extra offensive possessions outside the paint. I can't even imagine what a beating it would put on Cousins' body if he took 90-95% of his shots within 10 feet. 18-19 FGA that close to the rim would kill him, heh.

[Winsome Gerbil]

why would he be taking long twos?

To help space the floor on a few extra possessions per game.

just trying to understand why a coach would take his best post player, a beast down low, and move him out for spacing. Shouldnt they use other players for spacing?

Don't ever try to understand the mind of a dedicated smallballer. George Karl attempted use of Cousins has just been bizarre, and underscores the question I had when all that mess last year resulted in them hiring a run n gun smallball coach who had never coached a center better than Marcus Camby to takeover a team dominated by the best center in the game. I was reminded of the brief half season when the Knicks tried to hire Don Nelson to take over coaching Patrick Ewing after Riley left.

But of late I do think there has been some change/lessening of the brilliant stick the 270lb center at the 3pt line strategy, and shockingly it just so happens to coincide with Cousins blowing up.

[tradejunkie101]

The landscape of the NBA will change once Boogie signs with a competent franchise. His contract expires in the summer of 2018.

Hopefully we can see it happen sooner with a trade. Boston will have the assets this summer when they get a high lottery pick from the Nets, but unfortunately for them the Kings have kind of found something that kind of works with Boogie/Rondo/Gay/WCS. Even if Boston gives them all their assets (all 3 Nets picks, their own picks, Crowder, Smart, etc) I don't see the Kings accepting, even though they probably should.

[Lord Cuban]

Cousins stuffs the stat sheets but doesn't win games.
how much support do you need to break 30/35 wins. with the stats he posts you'd think he should be in the mvp talks. with that team and his stats they should get more wins even if the organization sucks.

[og15]

Cousins stuffs the stat sheets but doesn't win games.
how much support do you need to break 30/35 wins. with the stats he posts you'd think he should be in the mvp talks. with that team and his stats they should get more wins even if the organization sucks.

Well while not specifically impressive in itself, the Kings are on pace for 36 wins so far this season and they are 19-18 in the games Cousins has played, so that beats the 30-35 win threshold.

[damecurry]

People still sticking to their Cousins guns? Presuming the lowly nets hold on to their big lead the kings will slip to 21-29, 19-22 with Cousins in the lineup. I know he doesn't have the greatest supporting cast around him, but can you really argue Damian lillard has a superior roster around him? Or that the jazz having missed gobert and favors for long stretches have had a far superior roster? DeMarcus just isn't a winning player on an elite scale. He's extremely talented beyond any doubt and puts up huge numbers but they just don't translate to winning ball games, at least not on the level of anyone else who puts up those kind of numbers, that to me is an empty stats guy.

[tsherkin]

People still sticking to their Cousins guns? Presuming the lowly nets hold on to their big lead the kings will slip to 21-29, 19-22 with Cousins in the lineup. I know he doesn't have the greatest supporting cast around him, but can you really argue Damian lillard has a superior roster around him? Or that the jazz having missed gobert and favors for long stretches have had a far superior roster? DeMarcus just isn't a winning player on an elite scale. He's extremely talented beyond any doubt and puts up huge numbers but they just don't translate to winning ball games, at least not on the level of anyone else who puts up those kind of numbers, that to me is an empty stats guy.

This seems a strange comment on the heels of a game where he shot 50% from the floor en route to 24 points while also adding 10 boards and 10 assists against 3 turnovers. I mean, the whole team shot well but they just couldn't do a damned thing as a team defensively against the Nets, who shot 18/28 from downtown. You really want to blame that loss, rooted in the opposition shooting over 64% from downtown, on Cousins?!?

I mean, really?

Bogdanovic was 7/9 from 3, Sloan was 4/5 and JJ was 5/7. Together, that's 16/21. What could Cousins have really done to stop that? What could ANY big have done to stop that? When those shots are falling in that volume, you just throw up your hands as a big man... and not out on the perimeter expecting to alter the shot. That's on your backcourt and swing forward.

[jazzfan1971]

It's pretty astonishing that the team could shoot 50% from the field and 95% from the line with only 11 turnovers and LOSE to BROOKLYN by 9. I wont put any of that on Cousins, but, damn, play some defense Sacramento.

[Italian Job]

The harsh truth is that lately DeMarcus is the only King that plays with heart.

He's playing injured and doing what he can to help the team. But the teammates, and his coach, aren't doing him any favor.

He choked the last game against the Bulls but can't blame him for the effort.

I mean, can the Kings win when he doesn't put up 30-13 on a regular basis, like he did in January, a-la-Shaq?