Because Baron Davis decided to start playing basketball. Blake was balling at the beginning of the year and they sucked because the point guard play was inconsistent. I get what you're saying but I don't think any rookie could change Sacramento right now.
you are aware than they have this guy named eric gordon making a big leap to stardom also right? you are also aware they have a rising center in deandre jordan too right? you are also aware baron davis is healthy again right? blake is a huge part, but the clippers are very "talented" just looking at the roster. way more so than the kings. some are picking them as most disappointed team in the L with their start, including barkley. you are seeing what the kings "can" look like when the ball goes through cousins, and not tyreke. hopefully that will change permanently so we can truly gauge cousins' growth.
Blake Griffin's performance is not at the same level that he was at the beginning of the season. If he keeps his current rate of improvement, he will be closing in on 30/14/4.5 by April. Cousins isn't even to Blake Griffin's performance. Griffin PTS/REBS/ASTS October: 16.7/11.0/2.3 November: 20.9/11.7/2.7 December: 23.0/13.5/3.9 January: 25.5/13.6/4.2 If he was putting up Blake's numbers, that team would not be competing for last place with the Timberwolves. You could say the same thing about CP3(18 to 40 wins), Carmelo(17 to 43 wins), Rose(33 to 41 wins). They didn't depend on Baron Davis.
He makes other players better. That's what superstars do. LeBron James had the same effect in Cleveland. Now his "great" supporting cast has been revealed as bad to the superstar haters. Mo Williams was never a true all-star.
you're not getting the point. we all know that. he's not mature yet to handle those responsibilities yet (he may be now as he's slowly getting minutes, touches, and actually staying on the floor). nobody's trying to be a smart ass and saying cousins > griffin now or maybe later. what people, or at least i am, are saying is that he has ALL THE TOOLS necessary to be a franchise player at least with his skill-set. obviously his maturity isn't fully there (and other circumstances with the organization) to fully bring all out that.
eric gordon is a stud without no one's help. watch him play. this guy would average 20+ on any given team if he wants to. but yes, griffin's growth definitely helps the team's culture overall.
I agree about Dalembert, that's why I worry about Cuz. If he does keep his head on straight and continues to do well I think Reke will start to bite at his leash. Because he's going to have to give up the ball to the post up, which is not his strong suit. If Cuz does become the "face" of the franchise they will have to trade Reke... I think that's putting the cart before the horse though. Demarcus isn't going to unseat the prince this season... it will likely be next season before he's consistent enough for a starter... at least if I was coaching him.
Forget about the Clippers, then. Derrick Rose improved the Bulls with 8 wins from 33 to 41. The Kings had a 0.305 record, last year. They have a 0.267 record, this year. They have gotten worse. Can he just get the Kings to match, last season's record, and prevent them from losing more games than last season? Everbody's opinion of Cousins would change instantly, if they could get a few more wins.
you don't get the point of the argument. you're still talking about records. the guys you mentioned were primarily thrusted into the "face of the franchise" for their respective teams the moment they were drafted. and they were given the key to perform. and fortunately, those guys had the maturity to do that. cousins is not the face of the kings "yet." the team still caters to tyreke, and he's a terrible player this year. we don't know how the team would respond if the team goes through cousins the entire year (but then is he mature enough?" this team is still tyreke's team as of now. and the kings suck b/c he sucks this year. it's not smart to compare cousins to the guys you mentioned. totally different circumstances. again, we're talking about his potential skill-set. his best 2 games of the season this year = 2 wins over 2 top teams in the west. we're seeing the potential. and his potential is HUGE. hopefully the kings realize that and make him their guy, not tyreke.
I hope now that everyone sees the difference between potential and athletic ability.....Cousins is full of upside and POTENTIAL......Favors is just a ATHLETIC big and is nowhere near the potential Cousins is........I would give the kings whatever they wanted for him.....anybody they wanted!!!even RA back!!
According to one poster on this board Favors has way more upside and potential than Cousins and he's also much younger than Cousins apparently again according to him.
Nobody is saying Cousins, right now, is as good as Rose was, or Anthony, or Roy, or CP3. They are saying he has the potential, as a 20 year old, to get there. Big men take a little longer anyways. As for why their record is worse this year, you need to be looking at Evans instead of Cousins. He was down right awful the first 2 months. Have to use context when talking about team records. Can't lay it all on one player. Otherwise you could say the Net's improvement this year is all on Favors, which is far from the truth. Oh, speaking of which, pay up.
Unlike you, I'm not going to derail this thread. Cousins will be the face of the Kings in a few years, granted Evans moves aside and Cousins' head is screwed on straight.
I don't understand this face of the kings stuff for Cousins. Can't they have a all-star guard/center duo like Kobe/Shaq or Wade/Shaq? Wouldn't they be even be better, if they were a all-star trio like LeBron/Wade/Bosh or Garnett/Pierce/Allen, or quartet if you count Rondo)? Are the Kings really better off with Evans in a passive role than as part of a 1-2 combo with Cousins or triple combo with another star in the future?
Problem is Evans is NOT getting the ball to Cousins. And a huge problem with Evans is he is a horrible outside shooter as well. Those two are the worse possible combination.
They are better off with Evans off the team. He is straight up Steve Francis redux without the heart.
Im not talking about his speeding issue. He is a massive me me me type diva - that is an attitude problem. He refuses to admit to his mistakes on the court and keeps making the same mistakes - that is a headcase. A head ache for any coach. They both need a coach with a strong personality who can get through to them.
Dec: 27.0min 13.0pts (.321 .720) 11.2reb 1.0ast 1.0stl 1.5blk Jan: 29.6min 15.5pts (.487 .691) 11.0reb 0.9ast 1.2stl 1.4blk Feb: 30.2min 19.0pts (.419 .780) 12.3reb 1.2ast 1.2stl 0.9blk Mar: 32.0min 20.1pts (.452 .704) 10.4reb 2.7ast 1.7stl 1.4blk Ls10: 33.1min 22.5pts (.451 .680) 10.8reb 2.7ast 1.8stl 1.3blk Lst5: 38.8min 28.0pts (.458 .682) 15.0reb 3.0ast 2.0stl 1.4blk Saw these stats on RealGM. Cousins needs to improve his fg% but his numberss across the board is very good.
I've been saying it since I watched him at Kentucky. This guy is gonna be a force... It's a damn shame that the Kings didn't give up on him early and ship him out to the Rockets. I would trade anyone on the team for DC...
I hope he can keep his emotions in check if/when the Kings start playing meaningful games. Still whines to the refs way too much.
