April 4, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins (15) shoots a free throw against the Golden State Warriors during the second quarter at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Kings 102-69. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Freelance Friday is a project that lets us share our platform with the multitude of talented writers and basketball analysts who aren’t part of our regular staff of contributors. As part of that series we’re proud to present this guest post from Josh Planos. Josh currently writes for Washington Post Sports, the ESPN TrueHoop Network and The Cauldron. Start a dialogue with him on Twitter (@JPlanos).
The enigma of Boogie is still alive and well in the NBA. Sacramento’s center will drop a double-double without breaking a sweat then lose his mind subsequent a misguided whistle. He’ll crash the glass for 19 rebounds then go three consecutive games without eclipsing nine. He’ll give interviews where he’s rigid as a piece of taxidermy then agree toplay Jimmy Kimmel in one-on-one while holding a marching bass drum.
Ultimately, on the court Cousins is only as good as his judgement is sound on a given night. But last season, the fourth-year player took a significant step forward by bringing more versatility and consistency to his game, specifically on the scoring end. Last year marked his best season by far—posting career-best numbers in points, rebounds, assists, blocked shots, free throw attempts, field goal percentage, usage percentage, minutes, and turnovers—to name a few.
In years prior, Cousins posted striking and noteworthy numbers despite seemingly wandering through half-developed systems, beleaguering defenses on raw talent alone. But as the losses mounted, it was glaringly evident that a team blueprint was missing prior to 2013-14. The Kings moved toward a more traditional set, using him primarily in the low-block for scoring, but also allowed him to swing toward the top of the key, finishing as the screener in pick-and-roll sets on 18.9 percent of possessions, per mySynergySports.
Sacramento moved from fifth in the league in three-point field goal attempts and fourth in field goal attempts in 2013 to 16th and 26th in 2014. They limited possessions, stopped trying to get into the open court, and used a more traditional set grounded upon big men in the post and pick-and-roll opportunities.
Staying more anchored around the basket was a shift for Cousins. He rarely moved farther away from the basket than 10-feet—covering an average of 3 miles per 48 minutes, less than Memphis’ Zach Randolph, Minnesota’s Nikola Pekovic, and Houston’s Omer Asik, per NBA Stats—but when he did it wasn’t just to test his range, but to observe the floor and open lanes for teammates. It was a move thatformer head coach Keith Smart saw a year ago but never fully flushed out.
When asked how many offenses he's been a part of as a King, DeMarcus Cousins said: "Actually this is my first one."
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) October 8, 2013
Current head coach Mike Malone appeared more comfortable and willing to run the offense through the big man, and Cousins averaged 64.9 touches per game in 2013-14 according to SportVU, more than Dwight Howard, Al Jefferson, and Anthony Davis. His usage percentage also jumped to a career-high 32.7 percent and his .35 points per touch were more than other notable front-court scorers like Zach Randolph, Dirk Nowitzki, and LaMarcus Aldridge. He saw six close touches per game and just 4.6 touches at the elbow, significantly less than more balanced power forwards like Tim Duncan and David West. When the Kings moved Cousins in to score, he did just that, and although they kept him closer to the basket last season—his average distance on field goal attempts was 7.9 feet—he facilitated at a career-high level (4.6 assists per 100 possessions).
The Kings know he’s a dangerous mid-range shooter, but they know he’s more reliable inside. Sacramento had Cousins post up on 29.8 percent of his offensive possessions leading to a 46.5 shooting percentage, per mySynergySports. As ESPN Insider David Thorpe noted in January, Cousins was making 94 percent of his dunks and 65.6 percent of all other shots close to the rim.
Cousins took a career-high 32 percent of his shots from 3-10 feet, and his 8.8 percent from 10-16 feet was a much more reasonable figure than his rookie season display (11.6 percent). While his placement spatially on the floor was altered, so were his duties. He was asked to take and make more shots than in any year prior. He responded by shooting above the league average from numerous spots at the top of the key (a career-high 39 percent from 10-16 feet and 42 percent from 16+ feet on two-point field goal attempts, though his sample size was smaller, as mentioned earlier), averaging 25.3 points per 36 minutes on a 49.6 percent shooting clip. His hardened and archetypal role at the center spot in 2014 was in many ways the catalyst for Sacramento’s mind-bending 1.063 Actual PPS figure—a metric measuring over or under-performance relative the expected value of shot selection—a number higher than that of the Golden State Warriors, San Antonio Spurs and Portland Trail Blazers.
The Kings understand his versatility as a scorer, but did a better job of focusing him where he’s most effective: off screens (57.1 percent scoring percentage), as the roll man on pick-and-rolls (54.8 scoring percentage), slashing to the basket (63.3 percent scoring percentage), and on the offensive glass (59.1 scoring percentage).
Sacramento did make some noticeable improvements on the defensive side of the ball. Their Defensive Rating dropped from 111.4 to 108.8 and their rebounding percentage upgraded from 48.2 percent to 51.9 percent, with a large portion coming from the betterment of their rebounding on the defensive end.
Although it wasn’t as dramatic as his offensive improvement, Cousins did a much better job on defense last season. However, if Cousins is invested in the Kings chances of success, the area that still needs the most work is his interior defense. Despite blocking more shots last season, opponents still shot 51 percent at the rim against him—a higher percentage than Miles Plumlee, Amir Johnson, and John Henson. When consulting Seth Partnow’s rim protection statistics, his inaptitude is even more glaring. Cousins was 56th in the league in contest percentage—or how frequently a player contests a shot at the rim relative the number of possible attempts. He saved just 4.47 points per 36 minutes and his 4.96 adjusted save percentage per 36 minutes was lower than Nick Collison, Derrick Favors, and Spencer Hawes.
Cousins has undoubtedly developed his defensive acumen but it’ll need to be more of a proficiency than a marginal improvement if the Kings are looking to make the postseason anytime soon.
DeMarcus Cousins is very clearly one of the better players in the league, essentially the face of the Kings franchise for the foreseeable future (he’s signed through 2017-18), and is one of the best centers if not the most complete in the league today. Cousins is an elite player, who just posited a brilliant year, one where he was able to become the versatile scorer we’ve only seen inklings of in his first three seasons. He became the centerpiece of Sacramento’s shift toward a more traditional set, effectively screening, scoring, and surprisingly facilitating at a higher level. The Kings must continue cultivating their 23-year-old star in the paint, and Cousins must renew his commitment to honing his abilities on the defensive side of the ball, but we’d be remiss to think both are unlikely to unfold in 2014-15.