Is DeMarcus Cousins Underrated?

[draftnightsuit]

He spent his best seasons on the worst franchise in the league, then suffered several injuries and now can’t find a permanent home.

Not so much underrated as he just has terrible luck. He would be great for Boston but it won’t happen.

[Johnny Bball]

Nope he's not and its not just injuries. The game evolved and its passed him by like a lot of big men.

I'm not sure he worse than other options, but why add any possible headache when you need a min salaried big body to fill a hole or inruance policy. He can play, sure, but I wouldn't sya in any way that he's underrated.

[Baddy Chuck]

The Pelicans were better with Cousins off the floor, and so was AD. The numbers unequivocally prove this.

Considering their net rating was +1.9 with him on the court and +1.3 with him off the court over that season, nah, the numbers really don't prove that. And if you want to isolate it to only the time he actually played, they were -1.3 with him off the court.

New Orleans played great to close out the season, can't argue that. Lost in that shuffle is that they were also playing great before Boogie went down. Their last ten they were 8-2 and I'd add the team was +7.9 with Boogie on the court and -11.6 with him off during that stretch. They were clicking.

The AD stuff, where I guess he did finally prove he could put a team on his back, he literally scored 4 more points on 4 more shots after Boogie went down. His assists also went down and turnovers up.

[dhsilv2]

LMAO, no he wouldn't be a top 5 center, let alone top 3. Cousins was lazy, low IQ, and yes maybe as talented athletically big the game has seen in the last few decades. But the guy was a questionable allstar at times...he simple was the definition of an empty stats guy. He was one of the most fun players in the league to watch play at times, but he was never actually very good.

[BloodNinja]

Talented but lazy player. Posted great stats but never won anything.

[batmana]

No, but we didn't get to see him on good teams when he was productive.

Now he'll be known in the history books as a cautionary tale against the supermax and a serial complainer who always got injured.

He won't be remembered much as an NBA Champion with the Lakers or a member of the Hamptons 5 with the Warriors or a twin towers with AD, or one of the best Sacramento Kings in franchise history.

But he is not an NBA Champion with the Lakers. I don't care if they gave him a ring or not, he didn't play in the playoffs at all (I even remember they cut him but I don't care enough to look up at what point). Teams can decide to give a ring to anybody who was on the roster, or was a janitor, or the owner's grandkids. It doesn't make them NBA champions. It's not just my opinion, he isn't listed as one on b-ref either.

[dhsilv2]

The Pelicans were better with Cousins off the floor, and so was AD. The numbers unequivocally prove this.

Considering their net rating was +1.9 with him on the court and +1.3 with him off the court over that season, nah, the numbers really don't prove that. And if you want to isolate it to only the time he actually played, they were -1.3 with him off the court.

New Orleans played great to close out the season, can't argue that. Lost in that shuffle is that they were also playing great before Boogie went down. Their last ten they were 8-2 and I'd add the team was +7.9 with Boogie on the court and -11.6 with him off during that stretch. They were clicking.

The AD stuff, where I guess he did finally prove he could put a team on his back, he literally scored 4 more points on 4 more shots after Boogie went down. His assists also went down and turnovers up.

2018 per 100 the pelicans were +1.4 with cousins on and +2.1 with him off, for a net -0.7 for cousins.

[sikma42]

LMAO, no he wouldn't be a top 5 center, let alone top 3. Cousins was lazy, low IQ, and yes maybe as talented athletically big the game has seen in the last few decades. But the guy was a questionable allstar at times...he simple was the definition of an empty stats guy. He was one of the most fun players in the league to watch play at times, but he was never actually very good.

Please break down why you think he was low IQ. I never got that impression watching him. He was a good passing, played well positionally on defense and understood how to attack from multiple levels and in multiple ways from those levels.

[draftnightsuit]

Cousins definitely isn’t low IQ, he just has attitude problems.

[Chanel Bomber]

The Pelicans were better with Cousins off the floor, and so was AD. The numbers unequivocally prove this.

Considering their net rating was +1.9 with him on the court and +1.3 with him off the court over that season, nah, the numbers really don't prove that. And if you want to isolate it to only the time he actually played, they were -1.3 with him off the court.

New Orleans played great to close out the season, can't argue that. Lost in that shuffle is that they were also playing great before Boogie went down. Their last ten they were 8-2 and I'd add the team was +7.9 with Boogie on the court and -11.6 with him off during that stretch. They were clicking.

The AD stuff, where I guess he did finally prove he could put a team on his back, he literally scored 4 more points on 4 more shots after Boogie went down. His assists also went down and turnovers up.

The Pelicans only faced three playoff teams in that 10-game stretch so SOS has to be taken into consideration. Half of their opponents over that stretch failed to reach 30 wins that year.

The numbers do exactly prove that they were better with him off the court. +1.9 is better than +1.3. I guess what you mean is that the Pelicans still had a positive differential with Boogie on the court, which is true. I don't think there's anything remarkable about a +1.3 differential though, especially when you consider the on/off numbers of Davis and Holiday. These two players were the driving force behind New Orleans's success that year. Boogie's impact was circumstantial (thanks to his sheer talent), but not substantial.

Boogie never had much impact on winning in my opinion. He did have poor supporting casts in Sacramento and bad injury luck in New Orleans, but those concepts aren't mutually exclusive in my view.

[Baddy Chuck]

The Pelicans were better with Cousins off the floor, and so was AD. The numbers unequivocally prove this.

Considering their net rating was +1.9 with him on the court and +1.3 with him off the court over that season, nah, the numbers really don't prove that. And if you want to isolate it to only the time he actually played, they were -1.3 with him off the court.

New Orleans played great to close out the season, can't argue that. Lost in that shuffle is that they were also playing great before Boogie went down. Their last ten they were 8-2 and I'd add the team was +7.9 with Boogie on the court and -11.6 with him off during that stretch. They were clicking.

The AD stuff, where I guess he did finally prove he could put a team on his back, he literally scored 4 more points on 4 more shots after Boogie went down. His assists also went down and turnovers up.

2018 per 100 the pelicans were +1.4 with cousins on and +2.1 with him off, for a net -0.7 for cousins.

I mean literally straight off NBA.com

[dhsilv2]

LMAO, no he wouldn't be a top 5 center, let alone top 3. Cousins was lazy, low IQ, and yes maybe as talented athletically big the game has seen in the last few decades. But the guy was a questionable allstar at times...he simple was the definition of an empty stats guy. He was one of the most fun players in the league to watch play at times, but he was never actually very good.

Please break down why you think he was low IQ. I never got that impression watching him. He was a good passing, played well positionally on defense and understood how to attack from multiple levels and in multiple ways from those levels.

He was a horrible defender, constantly out of position. We're talking about a mountain of a man with supreme athletic talent who in impact metrics consistently shows low to negative impact stats on defense. Nobody his size and as talented athletically as him should ever have a negative DRPM for example.

He's extremely talented as a passer...smart? No. Great hands (big and soft), great coordination, and to his credit he was a willing passer. Unfortunately, the guy was insanely irrational and emotional and he let his emotions get the best of him. This was a common theme on and off the court. And having met the guy back when he was in college at kentucky...he didn't come off better.

[dhsilv2]

Considering their net rating was +1.9 with him on the court and +1.3 with him off the court over that season, nah, the numbers really don't prove that. And if you want to isolate it to only the time he actually played, they were -1.3 with him off the court.

New Orleans played great to close out the season, can't argue that. Lost in that shuffle is that they were also playing great before Boogie went down. Their last ten they were 8-2 and I'd add the team was +7.9 with Boogie on the court and -11.6 with him off during that stretch. They were clicking.

The AD stuff, where I guess he did finally prove he could put a team on his back, he literally scored 4 more points on 4 more shots after Boogie went down. His assists also went down and turnovers up.

2018 per 100 the pelicans were +1.4 with cousins on and +2.1 with him off, for a net -0.7 for cousins.

I mean literally straight off NBA.com

not sure on the minor delta but that data still shows he's -0.6.

[Baddy Chuck]

not sure on the minor delta but that data still shows he's -0.6.

In what world is 1.3 or negative 1.3 a bigger number than 1.9.

[UcanUwill]

I kinda hated him. He always showed up and dominated the Raptors, because he would just decide to play in the post, and in the paint he was unstoppable, like rich mans Pekovic, but more often than now he thought he was a jumpshooter and would dedicate a lot of his shots to low percentage jumpers. Really had a terrible shot selection, should have beem much better if he just played like Pekovic all the way through.

[DCasey91]

Cousins, Towns

Same deal, same story. No amount of theorizing or excuses is going to change the fact they are not players to impact wins.

Centers that can’t defend always put strict limitations on team success.

[sikma42]

LMAO, no he wouldn't be a top 5 center, let alone top 3. Cousins was lazy, low IQ, and yes maybe as talented athletically big the game has seen in the last few decades. But the guy was a questionable allstar at times...he simple was the definition of an empty stats guy. He was one of the most fun players in the league to watch play at times, but he was never actually very good.

Please break down why you think he was low IQ. I never got that impression watching him. He was a good passing, played well positionally on defense and understood how to attack from multiple levels and in multiple ways from those levels.

He was a horrible defender, constantly out of position. We're talking about a mountain of a man with supreme athletic talent who in impact metrics consistently shows low to negative impact stats on defense. Nobody his size and as talented athletically as him should ever have a negative DRPM for example.

He's extremely talented as a passer...smart? No. Great hands (big and soft), great coordination, and to his credit he was a willing passer. Unfortunately, the guy was insanely irrational and emotional and he let his emotions get the best of him. This was a common theme on and off the court. And having met the guy back when he was in college at kentucky...he didn't come off better.

I don't think he was some supreme athletic talent. I do think he was extremely skilled. Sometimes perception plays a role in how we view the intersection of talent and skill.

It's weird that someone so constantly out of position would be one of the league leaders in charges taken..that takes anticipation and IQ, It doesn't track perfectly, but i never remember Cousins lost on defense. He just had athletic limitations at times but was okay, considering the load he had to carry on offense.

[BelgradeNugget]

LMAO, no he wouldn't be a top 5 center, let alone top 3. Cousins was lazy, low IQ, and yes maybe as talented athletically big the game has seen in the last few decades. But the guy was a questionable allstar at times...he simple was the definition of an empty stats guy. He was one of the most fun players in the league to watch play at times, but he was never actually very good.

Please break down why you think he was low IQ. I never got that impression watching him. He was a good passing, played well positionally on defense and understood how to attack from multiple levels and in multiple ways from those levels.

He averaged 5.4 ast and 5.0 TO. This shows that he was terrible passer and you must question his BBIQ because he tried to be the main ball distributor on a team with Jrue and Rondo. Question is did he not understood who should have the ball in his hands and make plays, or he was simply chasing stats.

[sikma42]

LMAO, no he wouldn't be a top 5 center, let alone top 3. Cousins was lazy, low IQ, and yes maybe as talented athletically big the game has seen in the last few decades. But the guy was a questionable allstar at times...he simple was the definition of an empty stats guy. He was one of the most fun players in the league to watch play at times, but he was never actually very good.

Please break down why you think he was low IQ. I never got that impression watching him. He was a good passing, played well positionally on defense and understood how to attack from multiple levels and in multiple ways from those levels.

He averaged 5.4 ast and 5.0 TO. This shows that he was terrible passer and you must question his BBIQ because he tried to be the main ball distributor on a team with Jrue and Rondo. Question is did he not understood who should have the ball in his hands and make plays, or he was simply chasing stats.

Wait, so he choose that or the coach choose that? Its weird how we pick and choose who to give autonomy to with re to their playstyle.

Also, do we have a breakdown of those turnovers. Are they offensive fouls, travels or bad passes. I dont thibk anyone would Cousins was a horrible passer.
Sent from my SM-N960U using RealGM mobile app

[dhsilv2]

not sure on the minor delta but that data still shows he's -0.6.

In what world is 1.3 or negative 1.3 a bigger number than 1.9.

Hmm, I read that wrong.

https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/c/couside01/on-off/2018

This is basketball reference's much easier to read and cleaner version that doesn't do weird stuff.

I have no idea what nba.com is doing in your screen shot. I'd have to look at the filters and then pray they made sense.