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Sacramento Kings: The Evolution Of DeMarcus Cousins

By Gerald Bourguet

March 24, 2015; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins (15) celebrates after the game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Sleep Train Arena. The Kings defeated the 76ers 107-106. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
March 24, 2015; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins (15) celebrates after the game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Sleep Train Arena. The Kings defeated the 76ers 107-106. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
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DeMarcus Cousins
Feb 8, 2015; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins (middle) celebrates with teammates after his game-winning shot at the buzzer against the Phoenix Suns at Sleep Train Arena. The Sacramento Kings defeated the Phoenix Suns 85-83. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /

Offense

Being the fifth leading scorer in the NBA tells you a bit about Cousins’ potency on the offensive end, but even that doesn’t quite do him justice.

Everyone lauds James Harden‘s masterful ability to get to the foul line, and rightfully so; no one in NBA history has been this skilled when it comes to creating contact and getting to the free throw line. But Cousins’ improvement in that category has gone virtually unnoticed by comparison.

Boogie is third in the NBA in made and attempted free throws while shooting a career-high 80 percent from the stripe. But getting to the foul line isn’t all there is to his offense, so how is Cousins so effective on that end?

The first, obvious answer is his sheer mass. At 6’11”, 270 pounds, Cousins is a behemoth in the paint, a giant in the same vein as Shaquille O’Neal who can impose his will because of his advantage in size and strength. Couple that with his impressive ball handling and his stellar footwork in the post and it’s no wonder he’s so difficult to stop in the paint.

Before Sacramento’s game in Phoenix, Suns head coach Jeff Hornacek summed up the problems Boogie creates for opposing defenses:

“It’s not like when they lob it over the top you can seal him,” he said. “You can seal him the best you can, but he kind of bends down and starts pivoting around and guys bounce off of him and all of a sudden he’s got a little opening.”

But keeping Cousins in front of the post defender presents a new set of challenges, especially since Cousins has vastly improved when it comes to passing out of double-teams.

“So if you play behind him and come double, then he’s a great passer out of the post,” Hornacek said. “So when we do come and double, it’s probably going to have to be a little more of a surprise so that he doesn’t see it coming and so he doesn’t pick us apart with his passing.”

Against the Suns, double-teams against Cousins late in the game led to kick-outs to the perimeter and a couple of good looks from Ben McLemore, who knocked down the open threes to put the game away.

Cousins’ midrange game still could use some improvement, but it’s hard to fault him too much with the league’s third highest usage percentage.

“His savvy at the offensive end of the court — we’ve got to get better at giving him better shots and I got to get better at getting him better touches and we got to work together in our offense because he’s skilled,” Karl said.

Next: Defensive Improvement

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