John Wall Knows What's Up

[JWizmentality]

http://www.bulletsforever.com/2014/8/10 ... ction-2014

When Standig asked him if he had a fair shot to make the roster, Wall said no.

Nah, I don’t think so, but it’s a part of the game. I’m just happy to have the opportunity to be there and represent my country. I wish them the best of luck and hope they can win gold.

He also added this:

"I’ve been (around) for four years in a row. I think that’s enough time," Wall said. "Everybody had the same fair amount of time as far as being (in Las Vegas) and playing. I think [Team USA] already had kind of in their mind what they wanted to do and what decisions they were going (to make)."

Well, this was really no secret at all. We all knew before hand that Colangelo and Coach K "unt" had already made up their minds and this whole training camp thing was for show. Glad to know that Wall (and Beal probably) knew what was really going on and they come out extra motivated for the upcoming season. As long as Coach K "unt" and Colangelo are running the show I hope neither of them accept anymore invitations. They can keep their Duke and Uncle Drew pony show sponsored by Nike.

[theboomking]

I wonder if coach K is at least in part motivated by recruiting. He is straight up stonewalling those Kentucky kids while pumping up the Duke kids. When recruiting he can say, "look how well the Duke kids do for Team USA, and Kentucky players, not so much."' You can make an argument that Walls style of play isn't as well suited for international ball, but Plumlee over Cousins? What a joke. There isn't a team in the league that would take Plumlee over cousins. If I were Wall, I would tell USA basketball to suck an egg. He seems to be taking the high road however.

[Kanyewest]

I wonder if coach K is at least in part motivated by recruiting. He is straight up stonewalling those Kentucky kids while pumping up the Duke kids. When recruiting he can say, "look how well the Duke kids do for Team USA, and Kentucky players, not so much."' You can make an argument that Walls style of play isn't as well suited for international ball, but Plumlee over Cousins? What a joke. There isn't a team in the league that would take Plumlee over cousins. If I were Wall, I would tell USA basketball to suck an egg. He seems to be taking the high road however.

This articles gives the case for Plumlee over Cousins.
http://www.boxscoregeeks.com/articles/p ... ut-cousins

I would think that Cousins would be better if they just told him not to shoot mid-range jumpers.

[stevemcqueen1]

I wonder if coach K is at least in part motivated by recruiting. He is straight up stonewalling those Kentucky kids while pumping up the Duke kids. When recruiting he can say, "look how well the Duke kids do for Team USA, and Kentucky players, not so much."' You can make an argument that Walls style of play isn't as well suited for international ball, but Plumlee over Cousins? What a joke. There isn't a team in the league that would take Plumlee over cousins. If I were Wall, I would tell USA basketball to suck an egg. He seems to be taking the high road however.

This articles gives the case for Plumlee over Cousins.
http://www.boxscoregeeks.com/articles/p ... ut-cousins

I would think that Cousins would be better if they just told him not to shoot mid-range jumpers.

Teams can play a straight up zone in FIBA games, there is no defensive three seconds. They camp bigs around the basket. And FIBA games are physical affairs for inside players.

If anything, the FIBA game accentuates Cousins's strengths because he can shoot and range away from the paint, he can handle the physicality, he can shoot FTs, and he's a beast of a rebounder, whose advantage on the glass is boosted by the lack of goal tending.

The only thing Plumlee has over Cousins is his ability to run the court. That doesn't trump the gargantuan advantage Cousins has over Plumlee in every other way. Plumlee making the team over Cousins would be flat out asinine. Indefensible Colangelo bull and Duke homerism.

[stevemcqueen1]

A lot of stupidity in that comments section of that article. One thing, the FIBA lane isn't trapezoidal any more, that guy was wrong. Not to mention Cousins has a far better face up game than Plumlee in that Cousins actually has one, a pretty good one no less, and Plumlee does not.

Team USA needs to take Cousins because they're going to run into a lot of situations where they can't friggin score. Curry and Harden can't chuck every shot. They're going to get stifled and they're going to wish they had someone to throw the ball to and say, go do something. And there ain't anyone else but Cousins in that front court that can do that.

A man that says Plumlee is a better player than Cousins is a man that has seen neither play.

[doclinkin]

I'd love it if Cousins is frozen out too. same as his boy Jimmy Wall. He'll be all salty, the bad attitude may carry over into the season, he'll make a nuisance of himself for a while and advocate for switching teams again, and hey maybe a biased trade for a disgruntled Boogie is the back-up plan for KD. Though maybe that's one of those 'be careful what you wish for' situations...

[BrooklynBulls]

What people don't seem to understand is it's not that they're weighing Plumlee versus Cousins. They're weighing Cousins versus not having Cousins. He was eating Plumlee alive in the scrimmage, then Plumlee started giving it right back to him by using Cousins low emotional IQ against him. Cousins missed a shot, so he got frustrated and hit the stantion, meanwhile Plumlee was sprinting up the court for a lead pass for a dunk. Cousins can be a distraction, he can be a net negative if he doesn't buy into the gameplan, and he is INCREDIBLY mistake-prone, but nobody seems to realize it because all anybody looks at is TS% and PPG.

[Ruzious]

I'd love it if Cousins is frozen out too. same as his boy Jimmy Wall. He'll be all salty, the bad attitude may carry over into the season, he'll make a nuisance of himself for a while and advocate for switching teams again, and hey maybe a biased trade for a disgruntled Boogie is the back-up plan for KD. Though maybe that's one of those 'be careful what you wish for' situations...

I think it is. He's been terrible defensively whenever I've watched him in the NBA. It's hard to win with bad defensive centers.

[pancakes3]

What people don't seem to understand is it's not that they're weighing Plumlee versus Cousins. They're weighing Cousins versus not having Cousins. He was eating Plumlee alive in the scrimmage, then Plumlee started giving it right back to him by using Cousins low emotional IQ against him. Cousins missed a shot, so he got frustrated and hit the stantion, meanwhile Plumlee was sprinting up the court for a lead pass for a dunk. Cousins can be a distraction, he can be a net negative if he doesn't buy into the gameplan, and he is INCREDIBLY mistake-prone, but nobody seems to realize it because all anybody looks at is TS% and PPG.

You figure that someone with 31k+ posts under his/her belt would be able to write with more tact and style. But yes, go ahead and tell me what I don't seem to understand or are capable of realizing. My brain is swimmingly overoxygenated from my mouth-agape breathing style. Convince me further with your beautifully misspelled anecdotes [stanchion], and infallible logic bereft with "can's" and "if's". Perhaps if you CAPSLOCK a word? Great.

[stevemcqueen1]

I'd love it if Cousins is frozen out too. same as his boy Jimmy Wall. He'll be all salty, the bad attitude may carry over into the season, he'll make a nuisance of himself for a while and advocate for switching teams again, and hey maybe a biased trade for a disgruntled Boogie is the back-up plan for KD. Though maybe that's one of those 'be careful what you wish for' situations...

I think it is. He's been terrible defensively whenever I've watched him in the NBA. It's hard to win with bad defensive centers.

He's a pretty good defender. Good feet and outstanding length and strength. Not known as a shotblocker but he does block a lot of shots and, oddly enough, he's fantastic at taking charges. Been the league leader or near the league lead in charges drawn the past three years or so.

Cousins is a high skill player in a fantastic body. For me the only downside is the emotional combustibility. Well, and the fact he's under contract with another team long term. He wears his heart on his sleeve. A good organization with good leadership gets Cousins to work though. He's one of the five most talented players in the league IMO, there is no other big with even close to his combination of skills and genetics. So talented he can step onto the floor with a bunch of All Stars and be the most dominant and striking player, much like he did in that scrimmage. But you can't have him be your only guy. Or your locker room leader. He does not have the personality to handle it.

[Ruzious]

I'd love it if Cousins is frozen out too. same as his boy Jimmy Wall. He'll be all salty, the bad attitude may carry over into the season, he'll make a nuisance of himself for a while and advocate for switching teams again, and hey maybe a biased trade for a disgruntled Boogie is the back-up plan for KD. Though maybe that's one of those 'be careful what you wish for' situations...

I think it is. He's been terrible defensively whenever I've watched him in the NBA. It's hard to win with bad defensive centers.

He's a pretty good defender. Good feet and outstanding length and strength. Not known as a shotblocker but he does block a lot of shots and, oddly enough, he's fantastic at taking charges. Been the league leader or near the league lead in charges drawn the past three years or so.

Cousins is a high skill player in a fantastic body. For me the only downside is the emotional combustibility. Well, and the fact he's under contract with another team long term. He wears his heart on his sleeve. A good organization with good leadership gets Cousins to work though. He's one of the five most talented players in the league IMO, there is no other big with even close to his combination of skills and genetics. So talented he can step onto the floor with a bunch of All Stars and be the most dominant and striking player, much like he did in that scrimmage. But you can't have him be your only guy. Or your locker room leader. He does not have the personality to handle it.

Good feet? We haven't seen the same player. Unless he's been ridiculously lazy (a possibility) on defense, he's got very slow feet and reaction time on defense. A telling stat is that opposing centers have a .531 efg against Sac when he's in, and he has a .496 efg. He puts up big numbers - which is a good thing - but other teams do it more efficiently.

[Kanyewest]

What people don't seem to understand is it's not that they're weighing Plumlee versus Cousins. They're weighing Cousins versus not having Cousins. He was eating Plumlee alive in the scrimmage, then Plumlee started giving it right back to him by using Cousins low emotional IQ against him. Cousins missed a shot, so he got frustrated and hit the stantion, meanwhile Plumlee was sprinting up the court for a lead pass for a dunk. Cousins can be a distraction, he can be a net negative if he doesn't buy into the gameplan, and he is INCREDIBLY mistake-prone, but nobody seems to realize it because all anybody looks at is TS% and PPG.

This seems to be the case against Cousins. If he just bangs down low, takes shots at the rim and uses his passing ability, he would make the team. By taking mid-range jumpers, which are not good shots for him, or just not giving effort defensively may not be ideal for him to do as a role player to guys like Harden, Curry, and Davis.

The TS% should be much better. If Cousins takes better shots, he should make the team. I would be more in favor of arguing though that if he takes better shots, he should play more and if he doesn't, he should sit on the bench.

[BrooklynBulls]

What people don't seem to understand is it's not that they're weighing Plumlee versus Cousins. They're weighing Cousins versus not having Cousins. He was eating Plumlee alive in the scrimmage, then Plumlee started giving it right back to him by using Cousins low emotional IQ against him. Cousins missed a shot, so he got frustrated and hit the stantion, meanwhile Plumlee was sprinting up the court for a lead pass for a dunk. Cousins can be a distraction, he can be a net negative if he doesn't buy into the gameplan, and he is INCREDIBLY mistake-prone, but nobody seems to realize it because all anybody looks at is TS% and PPG.

You figure that someone with 31k+ posts under his/her belt would be able to write with more tact and style. But yes, go ahead and tell me what I don't seem to understand or are capable of realizing. My brain is swimmingly overoxygenated from my mouth-agape breathing style. Convince me further with your beautifully misspelled anecdotes [stanchion], and infallible logic bereft with "can's" and "if's". Perhaps if you CAPSLOCK a word? Great.

Tact and style? Like the Shakespearean masterpiece you just laid at my feet? I don't know who you are nor do I care. I said "people," not specifically (or even generally) referring to you. It is up to you to decide whether you had already understood my point before I made it. But do you feel better having taken me down a notch for my single spelling error, or my....capitalization (does that REALLY bother you?)? Now if you'd like to actually address the point of my post instead of bizarrely critiquing it like a freshly-fired junior high English teacher, I'd appreciate it.

[pancakes3]

Sorry for coming off antagonistic but it was just that you came in with a very condescending attitude. Then you followed it up with anecdotal evidence of how Cousins is a net minus. Finally you ended it with yet another sweeping generalization of both your audience as well as Cousin's game. I just wanted you to know that I expected better out of you.

It's no secret that Cousins has giant, lazy, underperforming warts in his game but that doesn't change the fact that Plumlee for all of his hustle is a fraction of the player that Cousins is. Cousins may or may not be a net negative but that doesn't preclude Plumlee from being an even bigger net negative. Out of the 3 true centers on the roster, Cousins is by far the best player. Leaving him off because of overrating the negatives and underrating his positives is really outthinking yourself on the roster front.

[Ruzious]

That wasn't like pancakes. Give him a mulligan - everyone has a bad day. Even Cousins.

[stevemcqueen1]

I think it is. He's been terrible defensively whenever I've watched him in the NBA. It's hard to win with bad defensive centers.

He's a pretty good defender. Good feet and outstanding length and strength. Not known as a shotblocker but he does block a lot of shots and, oddly enough, he's fantastic at taking charges. Been the league leader or near the league lead in charges drawn the past three years or so.

Cousins is a high skill player in a fantastic body. For me the only downside is the emotional combustibility. Well, and the fact he's under contract with another team long term. He wears his heart on his sleeve. A good organization with good leadership gets Cousins to work though. He's one of the five most talented players in the league IMO, there is no other big with even close to his combination of skills and genetics. So talented he can step onto the floor with a bunch of All Stars and be the most dominant and striking player, much like he did in that scrimmage. But you can't have him be your only guy. Or your locker room leader. He does not have the personality to handle it.

Good feet? We haven't seen the same player. Unless he's been ridiculously lazy (a possibility) on defense, he's got very slow feet and reaction time on defense. A telling stat is that opposing centers have a .531 efg against Sac when he's in, and he has a .496 efg. He puts up big numbers - which is a good thing - but other teams do it more efficiently.

It seems like they shouldn't be because of his weight, but his feet are shockingly good. He's just a really coordinated dude. He's always had the talent to play good defense, effort might have been the issue before. He's got a bad rep for defense, but he really cleaned it up this season and he had a good year. Cousins's size is a rare asset for a team's defense. Only guy bigger than him is Hibbert pretty much. I think the biggest thing for Cousins moving forward is getting his fouls down. But that is something he can still improve, it took Hibbert several years to master contesting shots without fouling. Cousins hasn't seen it all yet.

And the other thing I like about Cousins is that he's a legit tough guy. He's not intimidated by any of the other bigs in the game, he will absolutely go right at them and bang with them the whole game. It's not fun playing against Cousins. He can win the war of attrition. He's not afraid to throw his weight around and not afraid to be the most dominant player on the court. That's an underrated quality in a big man IMO.

I just think the total package of talents is too good to pass over under any circumstance. Gifted passer. Gifted ball handler. Gifted inside scorer. Gifted rebounder. Touch on his jumper. For a guy who grew up playing football instead of basketball, he sees the game so well. I would take him on the Wizards in a heartbeat.

[Ruzious]

No doubt, Steve - I concur he's as gifted as pretty much anyone and can physically match up with anyone. But the Wiz had 2 guys with great potential - Javale's athleticism and length, and Blatche's raw skills for a guy his size and length. Cousins is better than both of them, but he's got some of the same issues as far as not understanding how to maximize his talents to help his team win, imo. The ability to understand how to work hard is something that I think gets overlooked, and maybe that's what prevents Cousins from going hard on the defensive end. Everyone enjoys playing offense, so trying is natural. On the defensive end, you have to work - so it doesn't come as naturally.

[Kanyewest]

Sorry for coming off antagonistic but it was just that you came in with a very condescending attitude. Then you followed it up with anecdotal evidence of how Cousins is a net minus. Finally you ended it with yet another sweeping generalization of both your audience as well as Cousin's game. I just wanted you to know that I expected better out of you.

It's no secret that Cousins has giant, lazy, underperforming warts in his game but that doesn't change the fact that Plumlee for all of his hustle is a fraction of the player that Cousins is. Cousins may or may not be a net negative but that doesn't preclude Plumlee from being an even bigger net negative. Out of the 3 true centers on the roster, Cousins is by far the best player. Leaving him off because of overrating the negatives and underrating his positives is really outthinking yourself on the roster front.

I agree that Cousins is a better player than Plumlee. Cousins can create his own offense and is a better rebounder. I agree it is entirely possible that Team USA lineups could be better simply because the bad and extra shots that Cousins takes could be taken by more efficient players like Harden, Curry, and Anthony Davis. Still, I'm not also going to write off the possibility that Coach K and the Team USA camp simply doesn't like Cousins despite his great set of talent.

[dckingsfan]

Sorry for coming off antagonistic but it was just that you came in with a very condescending attitude. Then you followed it up with anecdotal evidence of how Cousins is a net minus. Finally you ended it with yet another sweeping generalization of both your audience as well as Cousin's game. I just wanted you to know that I expected better out of you.

It's no secret that Cousins has giant, lazy, underperforming warts in his game but that doesn't change the fact that Plumlee for all of his hustle is a fraction of the player that Cousins is. Cousins may or may not be a net negative but that doesn't preclude Plumlee from being an even bigger net negative. Out of the 3 true centers on the roster, Cousins is by far the best player. Leaving him off because of overrating the negatives and underrating his positives is really outthinking yourself on the roster front.

I agree that Cousins is a better player than Plumlee. Cousins can create his own offense and is a better rebounder. I agree it is entirely possible that Team USA lineups could be better simply because the bad and extra shots that Cousins takes could be taken by more efficient players like Harden, Curry, and Anthony Davis. Still, I'm not also going to write off the possibility that Coach K and the Team USA camp simply doesn't like Cousins despite his great set of talent.

Not sure it is Coach K - might be Jerry:
http://www.brightsideofthesun.com/2014/ ... colangelos

[stevemcqueen1]

No doubt, Steve - I concur he's as gifted as pretty much anyone and can physically match up with anyone. But the Wiz had 2 guys with great potential - Javale's athleticism and length, and Blatche's raw skills for a guy his size and length. Cousins is better than both of them, but he's got some of the same issues as far as not understanding how to maximize his talents to help his team win, imo. The ability to understand how to work hard is something that I think gets overlooked, and maybe that's what prevents Cousins from going hard on the defensive end. Everyone enjoys playing offense, so trying is natural. On the defensive end, you have to work - so it doesn't come as naturally.

Yeah defense is work. I don't think he's a self starter that's just going to stay dialed in on defense like the great defenders do. But he did get better with his concentration and intensity levels on D this season. So there is hope. Before, he was just a step behind and fouling constantly, just really didn't seem to know what he was doing. He's still fouling too much but the performance improved. Laziness wasn't necessarily the root cause like it is for a James Harden. If anything, he was prone to closing out too hard/overpursuing and ending up out of position. He was diagnosing too slow and falling behind plays. Conditioning was also probably an issue. He was dragging ass and getting gassed after 30 minutes of play.

But also, defense is one of those things where you won't see a reward for hard work and intensity unless your teammates are with you on the same page and doing work too. So I understand why someone with his mentality drifted in and out on D on really bad teams that were in a constant state of flux. He is not the culture changer. But he's a follower and he would play better by being surrounded by true pros with a culture of playing good defense.

I wish he wasn't stuck in Sacramento for the long term. He could be so much better and happier here playing with Wall and a pro like Gortat. But he is improving nevertheless. Next step for him is to get those fouls down and those minutes up. Year five or six are usually good ones for bigs, so I think it could happen this season.