DeMarcus Cousins is one of the remaining big men whose game resembles that of the past. He is tough, physical, and can be dominant in the paint. When you evaluate his numbers, they put him right up there in the top 10 discussion. However, Cousins’ stats may have been misleading fans. DeMarcus Cousins is not a top 25 player in today’s NBA, even when healthy. Let me explain why:
DeMarcus Cousins did not impact winning with the Sacramento Kings:
DeMarcus Cousins gets buckets, I won’t deny that. However, his impact hasn’t exactly translated into winning. Cousins played 6 seasons with the Sacramento Kings before he was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans. Cousins played 71 games during the ’13-’14 season, which the Kings finished 13th in the Western Conference with a 28-54 record. He played 65 games during his ’15’-’16 season, which the Kings finished 10th in the West with a 33-49 record. Lonzo Ball and the Lakers finished with 35 wins last season. I know there is much more to winning that a couple players. However, the “Baby Lakers” found a way to win more games than a team which included DeMarcus Cousins, Rajon Rondo, and several other players who are still in the NBA today. Last season’s Lakers won more games than DeMarcus Cousins’ best season with the Sacramento Kings.
A lot goes into winning, I get that. However, most of the centers on my projected top 10 list impact winning, even on bad teams.
DeMarcus Cousins did not impact winning with the New Orleans Pelicans:
Boogie was traded to the Pelicans during the night of the NBA all-star game during the 2016-2017 NBA season. I know implementing a new player into your rotation; so let’s gloss over the fact that the Pelicans finished their year with a losing record of 11-14. In New Orleans’ defense, they did shut their stars down to end the year. The following season, Cousins played 48 games before ultimate rupturing his achilles tendon. The Pelicans were 27-21 with him on the court. Not very impressive with the roster they had, but it was a winning record nonetheless. The Pelicans were 21-13 without Boogie, losing 5 of their first 6 after the injury. They would then rally and go on to sweep the Portland Trail Blazers in the playoffs. In Cousins’ defense, the acquisition of Nikola Mirotic and their new style of play certainly helped the Pelicans.
DeMarcus Cousins’ impact on his teammates:
Apparently, I was not the only one skeptical of Cousins’ impact on winning. Moke Hamilton published an article via Basketball Insiders which took a deeper dive into his impact on his teammates:
“For what it’s worth, with Cousins in the lineup, he averaged 18 shots per game. In the 48 games he played this season, the Pelicans were 27-21. With him in the lineup, Davis shot the ball 17.6 times per game and scored 26.5 points per contest.
In the 34 games the Pelicans played without Cousins, Davis’ shot attempts increased fairly significantly. He got 21.9 attempts per contest and similarly increased his scoring output to 30.2 points per game.”
To summarize that, anytime you’re taking the ball away from Davis, that’s a negative impact in my book. His impact on the Pelicans left many sports writers, including The Ringer’s Paolo Uggetti, look into whether or not the Pelicans were better without Boogie.
What drives me crazy about Boogie:
If Cousins played 20 years ago, he may have been in the greatest of all time conversation for all I know. Why? Because a coach would have post him in the post and kept him there. I’m having a hard time finding HD footage on what drives me crazy about Cousins. Those of you who have been following us on our Instagram page have seen me call out Cousins for holding the ball, spending too much time in the perimeter, and trying to make plays for House Of Highlights. Cousins proved that by averaging 5.0 turnovers per game last season and attempting 6.1 3’s per game.
Somebody on YouTube put together a lowlight tape of Boogie during a game with the Heat. Yes it’s just one game, but if you watch Cousins closely, this nonsense happens every game:
He also doesn’t move well without the basketball:
The achilles tendon rupture:
We’ve never seen a player come back from this devastating injury and be the same. The title of this article included Boogie being healthy so I won’t dive into it too deeply. However, I do wish Cousins a speedy recovery.
In conclusion, I love Boogie, but I have reason to believe that he’s not a top 25 player:
You can debate that he has top 10 talent. However, if winning and impacting winning is important to you, there is a debate that we’ve all overrated Cousins over the year. His presence takes away touches from better offensive players. He is not an elite defender. He turns the ball over too much and stagnates the offensive in a similar fashion to Carmelo Anthony. The Kings’ best season with Cousins included 33 wins, which was less than last season’s Lakers. In today’s NBA, you need to be an efficient team player who can move without the basketball and defend. Cousins isn’t exactly any of those things. I’m sure many of you have already asked me to name 24 players better than Cousins. You can find most of those players in my previous article, ranking the top players in the NBA.
DeMarcus Cousins is one of my favorite players in the NBA. However, he is not a top 25 player in today’s NBA.
Care to argue? Tweet me @TPRx11
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