Cousins is a dog

[Big333223]

Because he makes his team better.  Much, much, much better.  Like, day and night better.

I'd cool it with the "much, much, much better" since they've never sniffed the playoffs or won even 30 games with Cousins, now in his 6th year. Yes, the teams around him haven't been good either so he's not entirely to blame, but it makes it hard to argue that he makes those team better at all if he's never won 30 games.

It doesn't make it that hard to argue.  This season, for instance, the Kings are something like 1-7 without Cousins, 6-6 with him.  That's a pretty clear argument that he makes his team better, and that's without even getting into advanced stats.  (Short version: Cousins' impact in terms of adjusted +/- was in the top-10 last year.)

Sure, it your argument is that the team is better with the player it was built to compliment on the floor than it is when you take him away, I agree. But when I think of a player who "makes his team better" I think of a guy who makes the players around him better or more effective than they would be with someone else of similar talent. So far, Cousins is still a lot of raw talent but he still doesn't play smart or understand what he has to do as a leader and as a person to inspire teammates to play better with him. And it's getting to be late in the game for him to figure this stuff out.

Under that standard, did KG "make his team better" his last couple of years in Minnesota?

Yes he did. Those rosters around KG were worse than the ones Cousins has now but won more games. Pretty simple.

[Big333223]

Because he makes his team better.  Much, much, much better.  Like, day and night better.

I'd cool it with the "much, much, much better" since they've never sniffed the playoffs or won even 30 games with Cousins, now in his 6th year. Yes, the teams around him haven't been good either so he's not entirely to blame, but it makes it hard to argue that he makes those team better at all if he's never won 30 games.

No, I won't. 

Because I have already provided cold, hard objective facts to prove how "much, much, much" better the team is with Cousins on it.

You're talking about a bad lottery team without Cousins, versus a potential playoff team with him.   That is a MASSIVE different for just one man to make for a team.

Look at the Celtics for example.  Everybody talks about how important Smart is to this team, but look at our win record this year when he has played, versus when he hasn't.  They are pretty much identical records.  Teams have a tendancy to make up for it when a key guy is out by stepping things up.  When Cousins is out the Kings still have a pretty solid talent set - Rondo, McLemore, Rudy Gay, Kufos, WCS, etc.  That's definately not a 'Philadelphia-76ers-bad" roster. 

Yet without Cousins this year, the Kings are 1-7 (0.140) which is on target for the second worst win percentage in the NBA (only the Sixers, at 0.050, are worse).

The fact that the team has solid talent (arguably more than ours does) without Cousins and yet is on target to be a bottom 2 team tells you how many other issues there are on that team affecting their wins.  That could be coaching, it could be team morale, it could be poor management/organisation.  Whatever it is, the team is a ducks breakfast of a mess, and the fact that that pig of a team is actually playoff caliber when Cousins plays is nothing short of a revelation.

Yet if you stop and look at last year's Sacramento team, you'll find the same is pretty much true.  When Cousins played, they were at (or near) a playoff win percentage - when he was out they were a bottom shelf lottery team.

So no, i'm not going to cool it, because Cousins is a beast...and he's a beast who adds an astronomical number of wins to his team.  He is absolutely a franchise caliber player in terms of his team impact, and there is no debate about it. 

Anybody who tries to claim otherwise is just a biased hater - there is no other way to put it.

Treating these numbers as absolute evidence is a mistake. The team Cousins is on now is built entirely around him and can't function without him. Not necessarily because of him but because the team is put together poorly and can't deal with the removal of their key component. Obviously Cousins is their best player and an all star but that doesn't mean you can ignore the context in which he plays.

For example, if a team has a mediocre starting lineup and a God-awful bench, the on-off splits will make the starters look better than they actually are.

Cousins is good and he's good at a lot of things but he's still a personality problem. The fact that his teams have underracheived the last few years is proof of that.

[SHAQATTACK]

I'll take him.....

Dat Dog can Hunt!

[Roy H.]

The team Cousins is on now is built entirely around him and can't function without him. Not necessarily because of him but because the team is put together poorly and can't deal with the removal of their key component.

I'm not sure that any team is built to thrive without its superstar. Look how bad the Cavs looked last night without Lebron. Is Lebron's impact somehow lessened, because his team sucks without him? That seems counterintuitive to me.

As for the team being built around Cousins, is that true? He's a dominant, dynamic post center. The recipe for that is surrounding that center with a bunch of floor spacers. Instead, DMC is taken out of the post, because none of Rondo, Koufus / WCS, or Gay can shoot consistently.  In a lot of ways, the Kings are built in a way that totally ignores the strengths of their best player.

Boogie was ideal on a Mike Malone team. Let him be a defensive anchor and feed him in the post. Ownership didn't want that, and now Cousins is being asked to play a completely different style. Despite 3 coaches in one year and a poor-fitting roster, he's thriving. Imagine if he had some stability?

[dreamgreen]

The team Cousins is on now is built entirely around him and can't function without him. Not necessarily because of him but because the team is put together poorly and can't deal with the removal of their key component.

I'm not sure that any team is built to thrive without its superstar. Look how bad the Cavs looked last night without Lebron. Is Lebron's impact somehow lessened, because his team sucks without him? That seems counterintuitive to me.

As for the team being built around Cousins, is that true? He's a dominant, dynamic post center. The recipe for that is surrounding that center with a bunch of floor spacers. Instead, DMC is taken out of the post, because none of Rondo, Koufus / WCS, or Gay can shoot consistently.  In a lot of ways, the Kings are built in a way that totally ignores the strengths of their best player.

Boogie was ideal on a Mike Malone team. Let him be a defensive anchor and feed him in the post. Ownership didn't want that, and now Cousins is being asked to play a completely different style. Despite 3 coaches in one year and a poor-fitting roster, he's thriving. Imagine if he had some stability?

Imagine if he was mentally stable?

[Rosco917]

Cousins play is all over the map, he can't be everything. He can't be asked to be a defensive anchor, and rim protector/inside scorer, and be a stretch 4/5 ball handling/facilitator. And anything else the Kings can think of.

The Kings are a really dysfunctional team, 3 centers, nobody defends, no team ball movement, and most of all no plan. Everyone is on improvise mode. Maybe just too many strong personalities on one team.

I think if Cousins was asked to play a type of ball movement offense/team ball, in a stable environment, with a defensive game plan, with everyone on the same page, he wouldn't be so erratic, personally and in his play.
 

[dreamgreen]

Because he makes his team better.  Much, much, much better.  Like, day and night better.

I'd cool it with the "much, much, much better" since they've never sniffed the playoffs or won even 30 games with Cousins, now in his 6th year. Yes, the teams around him haven't been good either so he's not entirely to blame, but it makes it hard to argue that he makes those team better at all if he's never won 30 games.

It doesn't make it that hard to argue.  This season, for instance, the Kings are something like 1-7 without Cousins, 6-6 with him.  That's a pretty clear argument that he makes his team better, and that's without even getting into advanced stats.  (Short version: Cousins' impact in terms of adjusted +/- was in the top-10 last year.)

Update: 6-8 with Cousins

[chambers]

Did anyone see the Jazz vs Kings game?

Cousins fouled out. On his 6th foul he had a mini tantrum after basically sawing Trevor Booker's arm off. Throwing his hands around, scolding the ref and whining. The Kings commentators were like :
" DeMarcus Cousins just doesn't seem to understand when he's fouling people...he clearly fouled Booker and is still questioning the decision".

The worst part about this was that the Kings had a really good win vs the Jazz, and they were up by 9 points with 31 seconds remaining when Cousins fouled out.
Rather than celebrate his team's great win, Cousins decided to mope to the bench, put his head down and complain to whoever would listen about a BS foul.

This guy is criminally selfish/immature.
Please go and watch the footage if you have League pass.Happens with 31 seconds left in the 4th quarter.

Side note: Rondo had an awesome game. 17 points 13 assists.

[Roy H.]

^ An NBA player complained about a foul?! I'm shocked.

I'm more interested in the 23 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists in a win over a quality opponent

By the way, Cousins has two techs on the season. I bet you wouldn't want any of the guys on this list:

http://espn.go.com/nba/statistics/player/_/stat/fouls/sort/technicalFouls

[moiso]

^ An NBA player complained about a foul?! I'm shocked.

I'm more interested in the 23 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists in a win over a quality opponent

By the way, Cousins has two techs on the season. I bet you wouldn't want any of the guys on this list:

http://espn.go.com/nba/statistics/player/_/stat/fouls/sort/technicalFouls

NBA player more concerned about a personal foul than a team victory.

[Roy H.]

^ An NBA player complained about a foul?! I'm shocked.

I'm more interested in the 23 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists in a win over a quality opponent

By the way, Cousins has two techs on the season. I bet you wouldn't want any of the guys on this list:

http://espn.go.com/nba/statistics/player/_/stat/fouls/sort/technicalFouls

NBA player more concerned about a personal foul than a team victory.

That's a ridiculous contention. The game was already over, with the Kings winning handily.

To say that Cousins doesn't care about winning has zero basis in reality.

[chambers]

^ An NBA player complained about a foul?! I'm shocked.

I'm more interested in the 23 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists in a win over a quality opponent

By the way, Cousins has two techs on the season. I bet you wouldn't want any of the guys on this list:

http://espn.go.com/nba/statistics/player/_/stat/fouls/sort/technicalFouls

NBA player more concerned about a personal foul than a team victory.

That's a ridiculous contention. The game was already over, with the Kings winning handily.

To say that Cousins doesn't care about winning has zero basis in reality.

And De Nile ain't just a river in Egypt.
When your broadcasters point out how pathetic it is and you're the teams star something is wrong.

[moiso]

^ An NBA player complained about a foul?! I'm shocked.

I'm more interested in the 23 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists in a win over a quality opponent

By the way, Cousins has two techs on the season. I bet you wouldn't want any of the guys on this list:

http://espn.go.com/nba/statistics/player/_/stat/fouls/sort/technicalFouls

NBA player more concerned about a personal foul than a team victory.

That's a ridiculous contention. The game was already over, with the Kings winning handily.

To say that Cousins doesn't care about winning has zero basis in reality.

Exactly, the game was almost over and the Kings played very well yet Cousins was thinking about how he perceived himself as being wronged.  Nothing new there.

[Roy H.]

^ An NBA player complained about a foul?! I'm shocked.

I'm more interested in the 23 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists in a win over a quality opponent

By the way, Cousins has two techs on the season. I bet you wouldn't want any of the guys on this list:

http://espn.go.com/nba/statistics/player/_/stat/fouls/sort/technicalFouls

NBA player more concerned about a personal foul than a team victory.

That's a ridiculous contention. The game was already over, with the Kings winning handily.

To say that Cousins doesn't care about winning has zero basis in reality.

Exactly, the game was almost over and the Kings played very well yet Cousins was thinking about how he perceived himself as being wronged.  Nothing new there.

Paul Pierce must have been the most selfish loser of all-time then, because he did worse in the playoffs.

My guess is that if he'd celebrated, you guys would be giving him hell for celebrating regular season wins.

[moiso]

^ An NBA player complained about a foul?! I'm shocked.

I'm more interested in the 23 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists in a win over a quality opponent

By the way, Cousins has two techs on the season. I bet you wouldn't want any of the guys on this list:

http://espn.go.com/nba/statistics/player/_/stat/fouls/sort/technicalFouls

NBA player more concerned about a personal foul than a team victory.

That's a ridiculous contention. The game was already over, with the Kings winning handily.

To say that Cousins doesn't care about winning has zero basis in reality.

Exactly, the game was almost over and the Kings played very well yet Cousins was thinking about how he perceived himself as being wronged.  Nothing new there.

Paul Pierce must have been the most selfish loser of all-time then, because he did worse in the playoffs.

My guess is that if he'd celebrated, you guys would be giving him hell for celebrating regular season wins.

Nah, I'd love to see him happy for once in his lifetime.