New Orleans Pelicans: 2017-18 player grades for DeMarcus Cousins
Weaknesses
Since entering the league way back in 2010, Cousins’ main issue on the court has been his anger and the inability to control it. One of the constant league leaders in both ejections and technical fouls, Boogie can usually be seen getting into a spat with someone over the course of a game.
This trend continued this past season, as he racked up 10 technical fouls in just 48 games, including two ejections.
It’s been said every year of his career, but Cousins has to find a way to control his rage.
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Not only does it cost the Pelicans easy points, but because of that temper, the refs won’t look to give him the benefit of the doubt when it comes to arguing calls. They’ll give him a technical really quickly just to shut him up.
Now, playing with a technical, Cousins maybe has to tone down his style of play for fear of getting ejected, even though that style is arguably what makes him a perennial All-Star.
The other knock on Cousins is his turnovers, of which he averaged a career-high 5.0 per game during the regular season.
Part of this was because of his newfound ball-handling responsibilities, as Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry didn’t want to clog the lane, so he implored both Cousins and Davis to handle the ball a bit more.
Some of it, however, like most turnovers, is just due to carelessness.
Simply put, Cousins has to do a better job of valuing possessions. That means maybe not trying to thread the needle every time he thinks it’s possible, or maybe letting guards Rajon Rondo and Jrue Holiday run the offense more often than not.
Cousins is one of the best passing big men in the league, but he should only be facilitating from the free throw line and in, not playing out his fantasy as a pseudo-point guard.