DeMarcus Cousins historic night goes unnoticed

[Fafnir]

This year's Kevin Love.

Hopefully he's not reduced to 4th banana when he gets to a good team. (or they finally build one around him in SAC)

[kozlodoev]

The first guy since Wilt to have 20 / 20 / 10 back-to-back.

According to basketball-reference, the only guy since at least the 80s to have a 20/20/10 game with 6+ blocks (last game).  (Update:  Duncan did this once in a playoff game.)

He's had three straight 20 / 20 games, two of them against Anthony Davis.

Yeah, he's had these for several years now and his team has invariably been awful. Go figure.

His starting lineup last night was Ray MacCallum, Ben McLemore, Omri Casspi, and Carl Landry.

McLemore is the only one who should be in an NBA rotation right now.

Sure. On the other hand, in 13-14 he played with Rudy Gay and Isaiah Thomas and managed 28 wins. Something just doesn't add up.

[FreddieJ]

The first guy since Wilt to have 20 / 20 / 10 back-to-back.

According to basketball-reference, the only guy since at least the 80s to have a 20/20/10 game with 6+ blocks (last game).  (Update:  Duncan did this once in a playoff game.)

He's had three straight 20 / 20 games, two of them against Anthony Davis.

Yeah, he's had these for several years now and his team has invariably been awful. Go figure.

His starting lineup last night was Ray MacCallum, Ben McLemore, Omri Casspi, and Carl Landry.

McLemore is the only one who should be in an NBA rotation right now.

Sure. On the other hand, in 13-14 he played with Rudy Gay and Isaiah Thomas and managed 28 wins. Something just doesn't add up.

The team was 0-11 without him last year and they have a ridiculous record without him this year as well

The the team needs better quality
In a murderous conference
The management sabotaged a good looking team this year with coaching change
Lack of continuity, most the team has been there less than two seasons

[SHAQATTACK]

Trade everybody NOT named Marcus Smart for him .

[Atzar]

The first guy since Wilt to have 20 / 20 / 10 back-to-back.

According to basketball-reference, the only guy since at least the 80s to have a 20/20/10 game with 6+ blocks (last game).  (Update:  Duncan did this once in a playoff game.)

He's had three straight 20 / 20 games, two of them against Anthony Davis.

Yeah, he's had these for several years now and his team has invariably been awful. Go figure.

His starting lineup last night was Ray MacCallum, Ben McLemore, Omri Casspi, and Carl Landry.

McLemore is the only one who should be in an NBA rotation right now.

Sure. On the other hand, in 13-14 he played with Rudy Gay and Isaiah Thomas and managed 28 wins. Something just doesn't add up.

You say those names as if they're legit #2 and #3 guys.

Isaiah Thomas has a lot of heart, but on an ideal team he's not even a starter, let alone a #2/#3 option.  He's ball-dominant, takes some bad shots, and has to be protected on defense.  Off the bench, you can live with those things.  In the starting lineup, not so much.

Rudy Gay's teams have this strange habit of getting better when they put him in the rear-view mirror.

[Moranis]

I don't get why Sacramento is so bad.  Cousins is a monster.  Rudy Gay is a pretty darn good player.  Darren Collison is a good PG (though has missed some time).  The fact that Sacramento is so bad gives me pause about Cousins.  A guy that good should not be on a team this bad.  He should be able to will his team to 30 victories alone and Gay should be worth another 10 at least.  Makes me wonder if he really isn't as good as he seems.

[rondohondo]

I don't get why Sacramento is so bad.  Cousins is a monster.  Rudy Gay is a pretty darn good player.  Darren Collison is a good PG (though has missed some time).  The fact that Sacramento is so bad gives me pause about Cousins.  A guy that good should not be on a team this bad.  He should be able to will his team to 30 victories alone and Gay should be worth another 10 at least.  Makes me wonder if he really isn't as good as he seems.

He quits on plays all the time, especially getting back on defense . I'm sure his attitude has an affect on his team mates as well.

[Roy H.]

I don't get why Sacramento is so bad.  Cousins is a monster.  Rudy Gay is a pretty darn good player.  Darren Collison is a good PG (though has missed some time).  The fact that Sacramento is so bad gives me pause about Cousins.  A guy that good should not be on a team this bad.  He should be able to will his team to 30 victories alone and Gay should be worth another 10 at least.  Makes me wonder if he really isn't as good as he seems.

He quits on plays all the time, especially getting back on defense . I'm sure his attitude has an affect on his team mates as well.

This isn't even close to true, though.  Cousins is one of the most impactful defensive centers in the NBA this season, almost all of it due to effort.  He's the league leader in charges taken, he's near the top of the league in Defensive RPM, he protects the rim well, he blocks shots...

The reason the Kings aren't good is because:  1) Rudy Gay isn't a good player, especially in a team setting; 2) Darren Collison is well below average as a starter, and he's been out since early February; 3) of the Kings who are currently healthy, Ben McLemore is the only one who belongs in an NBA rotation outside of Cousins; 4) the team has had three coaches, all of whom have had different styles; the team switched in mid-season from a defensive, ball-control team to an up-tempo, offensive team; 5) management is in flux, with multiple comings and goings in the front office, and serial leaking of stories to the media.

[ekosins3]

They still lost both of these games. Down pretty much the whole game against the pelicans.

He is a good player but not top 20 in the nba.

[FreddieJ]

I don't get why Sacramento is so bad.  Cousins is a monster.  Rudy Gay is a pretty darn good player.  Darren Collison is a good PG (though has missed some time).  The fact that Sacramento is so bad gives me pause about Cousins.  A guy that good should not be on a team this bad.  He should be able to will his team to 30 victories alone and Gay should be worth another 10 at least.  Makes me wonder if he really isn't as good as he seems.

He quits on plays all the time, especially getting back on defense . I'm sure his attitude has an affect on his team mates as well.

This isn't even close to true, though.  Cousins is one of the most impactful defensive centers in the NBA this season, almost all of it due to effort.  He's the league leader in charges taken, he's near the top of the league in Defensive RPM, he protects the rim well, he blocks shots...

The reason the Kings aren't good is because:  1) Rudy Gay isn't a good player, especially in a team setting; 2) Darren Collison is well below average as a starter, and he's been out since early February; 3) of the Kings who are currently healthy, Ben McLemore is the only one who belongs in an NBA rotation outside of Cousins; 4) the team has had three coaches, all of whom have had different styles; the team switched in mid-season from a defensive, ball-control team to an up-tempo, offensive team; 5) management is in flux, with multiple comings and goings in the front office, and serial leaking of stories to the media.

Roy you've got good knowledge but the Kings info might be lacking. Most Kings fans would cite the garbage bench, mediocre Pfs (Thompson, Landry) and inconsistent SG play (McLemore, stauskas) as issues before Gay/Collison

[D.o.s.]

It's an interesting predicament -- I'm willing to forgive the Kings players (all of them from the end of the Maloof era onward) a lot of ground, because the franchise has been 110% unstable in every facet, from ownership to salary commmitments to the front office to the state of the arena, but DMC is reaching the point where he might be the best numbers guy on a team that has never cracked .500, or even gotten close, in the modern era.

[Roy H.]

I don't get why Sacramento is so bad.  Cousins is a monster.  Rudy Gay is a pretty darn good player.  Darren Collison is a good PG (though has missed some time).  The fact that Sacramento is so bad gives me pause about Cousins.  A guy that good should not be on a team this bad.  He should be able to will his team to 30 victories alone and Gay should be worth another 10 at least.  Makes me wonder if he really isn't as good as he seems.

He quits on plays all the time, especially getting back on defense . I'm sure his attitude has an affect on his team mates as well.

This isn't even close to true, though.  Cousins is one of the most impactful defensive centers in the NBA this season, almost all of it due to effort.  He's the league leader in charges taken, he's near the top of the league in Defensive RPM, he protects the rim well, he blocks shots...

The reason the Kings aren't good is because:  1) Rudy Gay isn't a good player, especially in a team setting; 2) Darren Collison is well below average as a starter, and he's been out since early February; 3) of the Kings who are currently healthy, Ben McLemore is the only one who belongs in an NBA rotation outside of Cousins; 4) the team has had three coaches, all of whom have had different styles; the team switched in mid-season from a defensive, ball-control team to an up-tempo, offensive team; 5) management is in flux, with multiple comings and goings in the front office, and serial leaking of stories to the media.

Roy you've got good knowledge but the Kings info might be lacking. Most Kings fans would cite the garbage bench, mediocre Pfs (Thompson, Landry) and inconsistent SG play (McLemore, stauskas) as issues before Gay/Collison

Well, I was specifically responding to a post that cited Gay and Collison as reasons the Kings should be winning.  I thought I covered the bench and the rest of the team when I said "of the Kings who are currently healthy, Ben McLemore is the only one who belongs in an NBA rotation outside of Cousins".

I've watched dozens of Kings games this year.  Celtics fans by and large seem to be ignorant of what's going on in Sacramento, but I don't count myself as one of them.

[D.o.s.]

How is George Karl doing? I haven't been able to catch many of their games since he took the reins.

[Roy H.]

How is George Karl doing? I haven't been able to catch many of their games since he took the reins.

The scrubs seem to be playing a bit harder under Karl.  It's still a bit of a square peg, round hole situation, though.  Management and the coaching staff want fast-paced play with lots of scoring, and the personnel just isn't cut out for that.

Of the three coaches there, Mike Malone was the one the team was buying into, and was the one that was actually winning.  He's won the respect of guys as diverse as DMC and Lebron James.  So, of course, he's the one who was fired.

[Moranis]

I don't get why Sacramento is so bad.  Cousins is a monster.  Rudy Gay is a pretty darn good player.  Darren Collison is a good PG (though has missed some time).  The fact that Sacramento is so bad gives me pause about Cousins.  A guy that good should not be on a team this bad.  He should be able to will his team to 30 victories alone and Gay should be worth another 10 at least.  Makes me wonder if he really isn't as good as he seems.

He quits on plays all the time, especially getting back on defense . I'm sure his attitude has an affect on his team mates as well.

This isn't even close to true, though.  Cousins is one of the most impactful defensive centers in the NBA this season, almost all of it due to effort.  He's the league leader in charges taken, he's near the top of the league in Defensive RPM, he protects the rim well, he blocks shots...

The reason the Kings aren't good is because:  1) Rudy Gay isn't a good player, especially in a team setting; 2) Darren Collison is well below average as a starter, and he's been out since early February; 3) of the Kings who are currently healthy, Ben McLemore is the only one who belongs in an NBA rotation outside of Cousins; 4) the team has had three coaches, all of whom have had different styles; the team switched in mid-season from a defensive, ball-control team to an up-tempo, offensive team; 5) management is in flux, with multiple comings and goings in the front office, and serial leaking of stories to the media.

I get all that of course, but they weren't good last year and none of that was in play and in fact had a better starting unit and supporting cast and were just as bad.  There has to be something with Cousins that just isn't clicking, because statistically no one that good should be on a team as bad as Sacramento has been.