A Candid Conversation On The Sacramento Kings’ DeMarcus Cousins
By Josh Eberley
3) Two part question here. Rajon Rondo is having a resurgence of sorts in Sacramento, how much of Boogie’s success do you attribute to the pass first point guard? Is Rondo the ideal player to run the point for a team with Cousins at the helm?
Davis – It is probably due (at least) in part to fitting together nicely as an on-court duo, but we also cannot ignore the fact that these two had an established relationship prior to joining forces. While each player can range from emotional to enigmatic as individuals, it does go to show just how vital chemistry and a mutual respect can be toward a team’s overall success. For whatever their reasons are, Cousins and Rondo appear to be a perfect fit for one another.
Ginsberg – Admittedly, I haven’t watched enough Kings games (I blame the time zone difference) to answer this question confidently, but from an intuitive and statistical perspective, Rondo is clearly helping Cousins excel to new levels in addition to Boogie’s own skill set development. I hesitate to say Rondo is the “ideal” PG for Cousins because that’s probably a guy like Chris Paul, but a player as crafty and intelligent as Rajon certainly doesn’t hurt.
Rowan – Rondo has been much better than I anticipated, that being said, Cousins has been really good for awhile and I think this is more of a combination of his natural growth and people realizing just how good he’s been. I think the ideal point guard for Cousins is one that’s willing to find him and get him the ball, but I can’t say a point guard without a shot is ideal for any situation in the modern NBA.
Thomas – An emphasis on inside play has helped Cousins put up the numbers that he is and someone has to get him the ball. Who better than the pass-first, ask-questions-later Rondo?
Watson – Rondo does a nice job of getting Cousins the ball where he needs/wants it, which is not often a luxury Boogie’s had since getting to Sacramento, but I’d never call Rondo an “ideal” point guard for any type of player, simply because his shortcomings are too easy to exploit.
Woo – I give Rondo some credit for the team’s (relative) success, and it seems like he and Boogie get along just fine. That said, I attribute almost all of Boogie’s success to…Boogie. For a few weeks there it looked like the entire thing was going to implode, someone was getting fired or traded or exiled to the desert, or something. Now, this appears to be a generally normally-functioning team (key word: appears). And that begins and ends with Cousins deciding not to throw the season and pout the entire time.
As for Rondo, I’m not sure he’s the ideal point guard for any team in this shoot-first league, but this was already a weird roster without him and they’re functioning with Omri Casspi as their only real three-point threat. We’ll take it.
Next: Who means more to their team this season, Anthony Davis or Cousins?