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DeMarcus Cousins Dominating Down Low For Kings

By Dylan Hughes

Nov 2, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins (15) attempts to move the ball defended by Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan (6) during the fourth quarter at Staples Center. The Sacramento Kings defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 98-92. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 2, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins (15) attempts to move the ball defended by Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan (6) during the fourth quarter at Staples Center. The Sacramento Kings defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 98-92. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports /
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Through three games, DeMarcus Cousins has dominated down low for the Sacramento Kings.

Amid on-court frustrations (tied with Blake Griffin and Kevin Durant last season for most technicals in the league), DeMarcus Cousins has undoubtedly been one of the most dominant forces in the paint since entering the league in 2010. After his rookie season, where he posted career-lows in points, rebounds, and shooting percentage, Cousins has averaged no less than 17.1 points and 9.9 rebounds per game. Last season, Cousins averaged 22.7 points, 11.7 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game, all career-bests.

Through three games in the 2014-15 NBA season, Cousins has carried over last season’s dominance.

After posting 34 points (15-for-23), 17 rebounds, five assists, and three blocks, Cousins now averages 23.7 points, 12.3 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game in this very young season.

Behind Cousins’ dominance, Sacramento already has two quality wins over playoff teams in the Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Clippers after falling to the Warriors opening night. Along with Rudy Gay and Darren Collison, the Kings have supplanted themselves as just another good team that probably won’t make the playoffs in the West. Winning in the West has never been easy, and Sacramento’s early success probably won’t replicated later on in the season. Even so, they are showing good signs of improvement after losing Isaiah Thomas to the Suns over the summer.

In what could be considered a crowded group in the “best center in the league” discussion, Cousins is undoubtedly up there with the Al Jefferson, Marc Gasol, and Dwight Howard’s of the league.

With a small sample size, Cousins’ numbers will certainly fluctuate in the early goings of the season, but he has the talent to keep his numbers around where they are at right now. He has gotten close to what he has now before, and with growth and maturity comes improvement. Cousins might be a whole new animal.

Nov 2, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins (15) attempts to move the ball defended by Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan (6) during the fourth quarter at Staples Center. The Sacramento Kings defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 98-92. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 2, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins (15) attempts to move the ball defended by Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan (6) during the fourth quarter at Staples Center. The Sacramento Kings defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 98-92. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports /

In today’s NBA, seeing a seven-foot center popping a few threes a game isn’t out of the ordinary. Cousins, luckily, is one of the centers in the league still keeping it traditional and doing most of his work close to the rim.

Cousins has taken 67.3 percent of his shots within 10 feet of the rim, making five of every 11.7 attempts, equating to an average shooting percentage of 42.9. Cousins is also taking about three catch and shoot shots (40 percent shooting) a game at 19.2 percent of his shots. A mid-range jumpshot can be a deadly part of a center’s game, drawing defenders away from the basket. Not only does it make bigger defenders guard them outside of the paint, but it allows for guards and forwards to attack the paint without having to worry about a behemoth of a shot blocker in their way. If Cousins could incorporate that more into his game, that would be a whole new monster for opposing centers to worry about. But, being so effective closer to the rim, he shouldn’t wander too far away from the basket.

Cousins won’t have many dominant centers to face in the coming week or so until facing Tyson Chandler and Marc Gasol, and then Omer Asik and Joakim Noah not long after that. While it will be a handful, Cousins will surely be able to handle it and those games will just give him more opportunities to show his dominance.

To take a deeper look into Cousins’ dominance early on, let’s dive into the wonderful world of advanced stats.

Cousins’ incredible defensive rating of 86.6 helps rank the Kings 7th in the NBA in defensive efficiency at 96.2. His 12.3 rebounds per game helps Sacramento rank 1st in the league in overall rebounding, and his 25.8 defensive rebounding percentage helps the Kings rank 4th overall in that department. In offensive rebounding, the Kings rank 6th.

Cousins’ rebounding also helps the Kings rank 7th in Pace, a stat that estimates a team’s possessions per 48 minutes.

All these stats show, even through three games, is how much better Cousins truly makes the Kings. While we all knew he was a really good player ever since coming to the NBA, his impact on the game has been overshadowed by Sacramento’s overall lack of success. With a somewhat good–and definitely competitive–roster around him, maybe the basketball world will finally start to appreciate how good DeMarcus Cousins is.

There is still plenty of basketball to be played, but Cousins has hit the ground running this season and may end up with his best year yet. For Cousins, I’m sure all he’s hoping for is some wins.

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