A Candid Conversation On The Sacramento Kings’ DeMarcus Cousins
By Josh Eberley
As January 2016 closes up shop, we discuss the fantastic month and progress of the Sacramento Kings DeMarcus Cousins.
The month of January is a special one for NBA scorers. No one will ever forget the barbaric 43.4 PPG Kobe Bryant averaged in January 2006. It was a shelling of shots for 30 straight days and it made Lakers basketball incredibly fun even when they weren’t winning.
Fast forward a decade and we’re looking at another special scoring month, for another Pacific division player. In the month of January the often criticized Sacramento Kings went a respectable 8-7. Boogie Cousins carried an impressive load, averaging 31.5 PPG, 12.9 RPG and 3.1 APG, and he did so with a sparkling TS% of .565 throughout the month.
It was an impressive month to say the least. But how impressive, how far has Cousins come? Earlier this month we did a round table on Draymond Green where some claimed that they’d take Green over Cousins. Does that still hold?
The chart below shows the top scoring performances in January over the last 20 years.
| Rk | Player | Season | Pos | G | GS | MP | FG% | 2P% | 3P% | FT% | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kevin Durant | 2013-14 | F | 16 | 16 | 612 | .549 | .597 | .436 | .890 | 575 |
| 2 | Kobe Bryant | 2005-06 | G-F | 13 | 13 | 541 | .470 | .502 | .397 | .897 | 564 |
| 3 | Kobe Bryant | 2011-12 | G-F | 17 | 17 | 665 | .455 | .497 | .292 | .845 | 531 |
| 4 | Allen Iverson | 2000-01 | G | 15 | 15 | 666 | .455 | .477 | .344 | .827 | 519 |
| 5 | Tracy McGrady | 2003-04 | F-G | 16 | 16 | 650 | .436 | .469 | .381 | .806 | 514 |
| 6 | Glen Rice | 1996-97 | F | 16 | 16 | 710 | .503 | .515 | .475 | .879 | 508 |
| 7 | Kevin Durant | 2012-13 | F | 16 | 16 | 634 | .529 | .586 | .398 | .917 | 506 |
| 8 | LeBron James | 2005-06 | F-G | 15 | 15 | 627 | .487 | .526 | .356 | .656 | 492 |
| 9 | Michael Jordan | 1997-98 | G-F | 16 | 16 | 635 | .471 | .484 | .280 | .853 | 491 |
| 10 | Allen Iverson | 2001-02 | G | 15 | 15 | 656 | .416 | .439 | .292 | .853 | 489 |
| 11 | Dwyane Wade | 2009-10 | G | 17 | 17 | 601 | .515 | .552 | .371 | .745 | 484 |
| 12 | Kevin Durant | 2009-10 | F | 15 | 15 | 600 | .519 | .516 | .532 | .898 | 481 |
| 13 | DeMarcus Cousins | 2015-16 | C-F | 15 | 15 | 547 | .480 | .488 | .422 | .729 | 473 |
| 14 | LeBron James | 2009-10 | F-G | 15 | 15 | 586 | .503 | .570 | .356 | .753 | 461 |
| 15 | Carmelo Anthony | 2013-14 | F | 16 | 16 | 603 | .452 | .438 | .494 | .841 | 459 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
With the above context it’s safe to say Cousins had a very special month. Thanks to his January scoring barrage he now sits fourth in the league for scoring (27 PPG). He trails Kevin Durant by only 0.2 PPG for the third spot as well.
With the special month Boogie just had in mind, I wanted to take some time to break down just where Boogie is at, how far he has come as a player, and how high his ceiling really is. So with that said, I’ve prepared a roundtable for your enjoyment.
Let’s get to it, below are your contributors, the following pages have their takes on the man called Boogie.
The contributors of the round table:
Jabari A. Davis – Contributor for lakersnation.com – @JabariDavisNBA
Mason Ginsberg – Contributor for ESPN’s TrueHoop Network, via bourbonstreetshots.com – @MasonGinsberg
Justin Rowan – Contributor for fearthesword.com and hoopshabit.com – @Cavsanda
Jamie Thomas – Host for Sportsnet Central – @SNJamieWThomas
Phil Watson – Editor for hoopshabit.com – @FurtherReview
Jeremy Woo – Contributor for Sports Illustrated – @Jeremy_Woo
Next: Is DeMarcus Cousins an elite player?