Grantland article on DeMarcus Cousins.

Good read, and as someone who has been anti-Cousins since his rookie year, I hope this will enlighten some folks who think Cousins would be a good fit on the Rockets (or anywhere).

 

This is particularly funny:

 

Cousins reminds me of Al Jefferson if he was a giant douche (offensive skills, good boards, no d).

 

He did everything right on that play. He just knows something we (or anybody else) don't know.

 

For all Cousins faults, opposing teams rarely shoot close to the basket when he is in there (2nd in the NBA in invisible blocks) as they settle for mid range shots. Those mid range shots are still worse shots than close range shots.

Who is more stupid, the out of position or the person who settles for low percentage shots while the out of position is in the game?

If he played smart defense, he may be the best defensive player in the NBA. Since he isn't, the irrational fear most players have against getting blocked by him tends to make him a slightly better than average defender.

I would definitely not like to see him on Miami, but don't think he can be the main focus of an offensive attack. He would also look very good in OKC that has someone that can clean up some of his mistakes. He seems destined to be one of the worse great players or one of the best bad players in the NBA.

 

I have not been a Cousins fan for sure. I always thought maybe he was too lazy to play defense but watching him some last year I just think he is not smart enough to figure it out.

 

It was a good article, but I don't think I'm yet convinced he's a bad player. He has an intelligence and/or attitude and/or maturity and/or commitment problem. If it's a problem of intelligence, there's probably no helping him. Maturity will come eventually. And, if it's an attitude/commitment problem, that can improve markedly given the right environment -- and I don't mean having the right power forward as Lowe suggests, but good leadership, good coaching, and a positive team culture with high standards and professionalism. I think the Rockets have such an environment, so I am still willing to take a chance that a change of scenery really will turn him around as a player (though with Harden/Howard now, I'm not willing to pay nearly as much in a trade to get the opportunity to try).

 

I don't know where he ranks in invisible blocks or whether guys fear going into the paint vs. him vs. everyone else. But these invisible blocks still results in Sacramento having the 2nd worst defense in the NBA and even worse when Cousins was on the floor.

 

You should tag this as a Zach Lowe article as well, just to let people know that it's a must-read.

 

Considering he is only 22, it'll be a while before you can say that.

 

the thing with invisible blocks is it's considered when the player is actually there in the paint, so if you're a perimeter tourist like boogie, it doesn't count against you when players get uncontested layups.

 

It's curious how Lowe notes Memphis plays towards Gasol/Randolph's "plodding" pace. If Sacramento thinks Cousins is their best player, as they apparently do, why aren't they trying that pace as well?

I'm not a huge fan of Cousins, but still think he's "fixable". Especially defensively, where I think less effort should be spent on trying to get him to play perfect, Ibaka like defense, but rather spend effort on figuring out how to minimize his mistakes. Lowe points out repeatedly how Cousins is late on a pnr play defensively, then tries to speed up to catch up, only to be unable to stop his momentum as a guard drives by. Can Cousins ever fix this, even with more effort? I don't think so. Instead, I think he should be guided to give up the mid range jumper. It's not a great defensive play, but I'd much rather give up a mid range jumper than anything else... it prevents the and-one, keeps Cousins out of trouble, stops dribble drive kick out threes, etc. It's giving up a shot, but the worst shot in basketball, and one that increasingly players aren't very good at. I also happen to think its a strategy that Cousins would appreciate, save him some energy, give him some confidence as he isn't getting into as much foul trouble, and ironically get him to put forth more effort.

Offensively, it is a little more difficult, as that is purely up to him. Stop taking mid range jumpers. Just stop. Once you get that hammered into his head, you don't have to fix anything else really. Sure, you can improve from there - more effort in running the court, finding the right players to put around him, etc. - but that one change is enough. For reference, he shot 56% on all shots within 10 feet last year. Unfortunately, a full third of his shots - 327 -were longer than that, at which he shot 33%. I realize eliminating all those shots is unlikely. But let's say you can at least cut those shots in half. Let's say instead of 327 shots at that distance (greater than 10 feet), he only takes 163, at the same percentages. And with the other 164 shots, he now takes those between 3 and 10 feet, where he shot 40.2%. Just that one change would bring his shooting percentage as a whole up to 49.6% and would bump his scoring average by a point and a half or so.

To summarize, two changes:
Defensively: You're overmatched at pnr defense. Give up mid range jumpers. Prevent dribble drives.
Offensively: No more mid range (or longer) jumpers

I think with those 2 changes you get a center who can up his minutes to 33.5 -35.5 (from 30.5) due to less fouls, who shoots better, who doesn't give up as many mistakes defensively, and gives you 20 points, 10 boards, 1 block a game.

But he'll still make you shake your head a fair amount.

 

The dude is 22 and arguably one of the most talented centers offensively in the league already. He needs a different environment and a coach who will get in his ass. He'll figure it out just like Z-bo did.....

 

he is only 22

morey likes to buy low and sell high

how about harden for cousins and a 1st round pick and a 2nd rounder

get er done Morey!

 

People didn't think Zach Randolph "got it" until he was 28/29 years old in his 8th/9th season.

May be a similar case with Cousins.

 

I hope this is simply sarcasm that I'm not detecting, but the involvement of Harden in the trade leads me to believe that you are being serious.

 

Cousins is the classic case of a player with good numbers who casual fans overrate because they only watch him play ~5 times a year. Watch him closely and long enough and the flaws jump out at you.

For most teams, if he's a featured player in your offense he's too prone to turnovers and low percentage shots. If he's a role player, his liabilities on defense make him too much of a net negative. You need to put him in a highly specific situation for him to thrive and have a positive overall impact, which severely limits his value.

 

The problem with Cousins is that his skillset and size makes him a commodity- even if he has a low BBIQ and immaturity issues. He doesn't have too much incentive to grow up, cause he'll always be able to find a job in the NBA.