Sacramento Kings’ DeMarcus Cousins Needs To Grow Up

Life is certainly an interesting concept to sit and think about. It’s incredible to look back on the experiences we’ve had just walking through our daily routines and realize just how much we’ve learned from experiencing new things and being a part of situations.

Learning from mistakes is something that should never be taken for granted in life and should be embraced fully and appreciated as one of the most important things we can continue to do as human beings.

Unfortunately for the Sacramento Kings, DeMarcus Cousins hasn’t quite understood that statement just yet.

Throughout his young career, Cousins has had problems staying on the court, from technical fouls to just being a headache for his head coach in general. Cousins’ temper and attitude problems have been the biggest things holding him back from reaching his ceiling as a basketball player, and just in case anyone’s forgotten, his potential is pretty high.

For his career, Cousins has averaged 18.3 points per game on 46.6 percent shooting to go along with 10.4 rebounds per game and 2.5 assists per game. There are certainly big men in the game that are more well-rounded like Marc Gasol and Joakim Noah, but in terms of being a dominant force, there is no one more effective than Cousins.

Cousins possesses unique size, length and athleticism that cannot be completely matched by any other center in the NBA when you factor in his skill set. Scoring comes naturally for Cousins, as he can get buckets either with his back to the basket or by facing his man up and getting around him for a score or even hitting a jump shot in the midrange. Many times this season, Cousins has simply manhandled his opponents down low, slamming the ball home for dunks viciously over multiple defenders.

Oh, and if he’s begin guarded one-on-one, good luck stopping him then, as he is strong enough to go over any man that gets in his way. It doesn’t matter how many men he has on him, Cousins will find a way to finish at the rim with the best of them.

What makes Cousins’ offensive game so impressive is that he is the best ball-handler of any true center in the league, and he may in fact be one of the best in league history when it comes to dribbling the basketball for his size and position.

Most of Cousins’ emphatic jams and finishes in fact come off the dribble, not off a lob or easy fast-break. Cousins does indeed create a lot of his own offense, which is remarkable given the fact that most big men only score points off of easy opportunities. Cousins’ offensive potential is sky high because of this, and a big reason why he is putting up MVP-like numbers this season.

Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 1/1/2015.

Where Cousins could stand to improve is on the defensive end of the floor, as that is where he has had to adjust his game the most on the pro level.

More from Hoops Habit

• The 5 most dominant NBA players who never won a championship
• 7 Players the Miami Heat might replace Herro with by the trade deadline
• Meet Cooper Flagg: The best American prospect since LeBron James
• Are the Miami Heat laying the groundwork for their next super team?
• Sophomore Jump: 5 second-year NBA players bound to breakout

Players are a lot faster and better at improvising on offense in the NBA, two things that aren’t always seen out of big men in college. It has taken Cousins a lot of effort to even become half the defender that he is right now. Slowly, Cousins has become better at reading the opposing offense and positioning himself correctly to block shots and get defensive rebounds. Cousins may be a poor individual defender, but his willingness to contest shots and clear the glass should at least be noted in a positive light.

The biggest area that Cousins needs to focus on is his mental game and foul situation.

More times than not, Cousins does not take enough time to think about the right play and instead makes an impulsive move on either end of the floor, resulting in poor fouls and flare-ups in Cousins’ temper.

Granted, it isn’t easy to think so quickly on the fly like you are required to do in the NBA, but Cousins is not lacking in the intelligence department in any form or fashion. Cousins settles too much for his own good, and is left too many times in situations where he is either close to fouling out or sitting and watching from the bench.

When Cousins is called for a foul or a violation and he doesn’t agree with the call, his negative emotions get the best of him and he either retaliates on the referee or his opposing man, sometimes even his own teammates get a chunk of the backlash.

Cousins was just ejected the other day in the Kings’ game against the Boston Celtics in which he threw Marcus Smart to the ground because he was frustrated with Smart’s screen attempt on the big man. There was honestly nothing there for Cousins to legitimately gripe about, regardless of what he said.

This kind of behavior is not uncommon with Cousins, and quite frankly it has gotten old. He is in his fifth season in the league, and he needs to start checking his emotions and outbursts like that at the door. Cousins is the franchise cornerstone for the Kings, and he needs to start acting like it.

Whether this means getting help from a mentor or a counselor, Cousins needs to seek professional advice from someone because it is clear he cannot fix these problems on his own, and it is beginning to become embarrassing for Sacramento to deal with.

Cousins is one of the most talented players in all of the NBA, but unless he starts acting like it and taking advantage of his gifts, then he will continue to ultimately be a failure in this league.

*Statistics courtesy of Basketball-Reference.

Next: NBA: 50 Greatest Players Of All Time