Sacramento Kings: Can Gay And Cousins Bring Form Back From FIBA?
By Adam McGee
It was an honor, and in many ways a surprise for the Sacramento Kings, when two of their players were chosen in the final USA Basketball squad to play in the FIBA World Cup. It says a lot about the talent of Rudy Gay and DeMarcus Cousins though, and at the same time, it highlights the disjointed nature of Sacramento’s roster.
Neither Gay or Cousins have quite been the crux of the USA Basketball roster, but both are regular members of coach Mike Krzyzewski’s rotation, and already have had impressive moments in the tournament. The real question for these guys, and everyone else on the USA roster is, will the World Cup experience benefit them coming back to the States for a new NBA season?
The 12 men on the US roster, or at least the nine getting meaningful minutes, are getting about as good a preseason workout as anyone could possibly ask for. For their teams, the advantage of that initially could be a lightning fast start from those players, while everyone else is trying to feel their way back to full speed when the season returns. On the downside though, could we see Team USA players burn out earlier this season?
The whole process of making the USA Basketball squad is a long, drawn-out affair, and most of the players involved have spent a couple of months preparing and working their way through provisional squads before making Krzyzewski’s final cut. Representing their country is quite an honor, and should be seen as such, but the process for selection could be proven to have been a little too grueling by the time that the All-Star break rolls around.
From a play point of view, there’s undoubtedly positives though. Gay and Cousins are spending time not only working under a top-class coaching staff, but alongside some of the best players in the NBA. There are a number of factors why that should be important. It gives the players a chance to pick up tips and work together, they get more of an inside track for the next time they come matched up with a USA Basketball teammate in the NBA, and it’s the ultimate confidence boost.
Take DeMarcus Cousins as an example. Cousins is competing for minutes up front with guys like Anthony Davis, Andre Drummond and Mason Plumlee. As Davis’ astonishing development continues, Cousins has had the chance to work with, and go up against the young star in practice on a daily basis. That can’t do anything but help Cousins to grow and develop as a player.
There have been flashes in the tournament of just how good a player that Cousins could become too. He has only really made significant cameo appearances so far, but that hasn’t prevented him from putting up some impressive numbers. Averaging 13 minutes per game, Cousins is posting 9.6 points and 4.6 rebounds for the five tournament games so far.
That doesn’t tell the full story though, as Cousins also had a particularly striking performance against the Dominican Republic. In twelve minutes of play, Cousins went a perfect five-of-five from the field for 13 points, while also adding five rebounds, two assists, and most impressively, six steals. That’s a stat line that screams energy and effort, and Cousins generally imposing his will on the game. It’s something the Kings will hope he carries home from Spain with him too.
Cousins wasn’t the only member of the Sacramento Kings to impress in that game either, as Rudy Gay put on a show of his own. Gay, normally known as a scorer, may have only had nine points in his 17 minutes of play, but it was his four rebounds, and in particular, five assists that really made him stand out. Passing isn’t usually such a key component of Gay’s game, and as I discussed the other day, it’s an area the Kings really struggled in last year.
These aspects of play may mean absolutely nothing by the time both players return for preseason in Sacramento, but then again, they could mark the start of realizations or attitude shifts for both guys too.
It wouldn’t necessarily surprise me to see many of the guys who were involved in the World Cup start the NBA season in a rich vein of form, and if that does transpire, it would surely be good news for the Kings. Word of warning though, the NBA season is long, and the true impact of a busy Summer may only be seen by the time February/March rolls around.