Disagree strongly, and I feel like your post is misleading (or, a red herring, if you will). Whether Karl is the right coach for the Kings is absolutely a legitimate question, but it's a different question, for a different thread.
At some point, as Kings Fans, we're either player fans, or we're rooting for laundry. But, either way, this is a legitimate question. It is about whether Karl is the right coach for Cousins, because we do not own Cousins' rights in perpetuity. He will still be in his prime when he becomes an unrestricted free agent, and if he feels like playing for Karl is not in his best interests, he's probably going to leave.
Whether or not reducing Cousins' numbers to "balance the court" would make the team better is either the wrong question, or a question for a different thread, depending on your point of view. The question in this thread is not really whether Karl is good for the Kings as a whole, and it's not whether Cousins should sacrifice stats to make the team better; the question is whether or not playing the most talented young low post big in the league like he's a stretch 5 is in his best interests?
It's not as cut and dry as saying, "Well, if he cares about winning, he should just do what the coach says, and let that be that." There's an imminently plausible scenario where he does exactly that, and it works, and then in three years, he says to himself, "Now that I've gotten a taste of the playoffs, I need to go somewhere where I can compete for a championship, and they let me be myself."
At some point, as Kings Fans, we're either player fans, or we're rooting for laundry. But, either way, this is a legitimate question. It is about whether Karl is the right coach for Cousins, because we do not own Cousins' rights in perpetuity. He will still be in his prime when he becomes an unrestricted free agent, and if he feels like playing for Karl is not in his best interests, he's probably going to leave.
Whether or not reducing Cousins' numbers to "balance the court" would make the team better is either the wrong question, or a question for a different thread, depending on your point of view. The question in this thread is not really whether Karl is good for the Kings as a whole, and it's not whether Cousins should sacrifice stats to make the team better; the question is whether or not playing the most talented young low post big in the league like he's a stretch 5 is in his best interests?
It's not as cut and dry as saying, "Well, if he cares about winning, he should just do what the coach says, and let that be that." There's an imminently plausible scenario where he does exactly that, and it works, and then in three years, he says to himself, "Now that I've gotten a taste of the playoffs, I need to go somewhere where I can compete for a championship, and they let me be myself."
Again, we should hold off on judgments until we see what this team looks like next preseason with a full offseason to instill what Karl wants. How much of his system do you think the guys really know right now? 5%? 10%? 2%? And it takes hell of a lot longer than a couple weeks to be comfortable in a new offense.
What I do know is this team is emphatically better than they were under Corbin. That's enough for me right now.
What I do know is this team is emphatically better than they were under Corbin. That's enough for me right now.
I think it's far too early to be questioning whether Karl is the right coach for Cousins. Early in the season the Kings had a lot of success setting a screen for Cousins down low and posting him up. The problem is now teams are sagging off of whoever is making the entry pass forcing the pass to be a high pass. Then they send a hard double team from the weak side forcing Cuz to either attack the double team and force up a contested shot in traffic or to make a long cross court pass. This has resulted in a lot of turnovers, Cuz getting his shot blocked frequently, and Cuz getting frustrated. Even when the pass is on the money to an open shooter, the Kings 3 point shooting is so bad that it's a win for the defense. As long as defenses can play the Kings this way, the Kings aren’t going to have any success with a basic post entry pass to Cuz from the wing.
I saw a lot that I liked down the stretch against the Hornets. In the middle of the 4th with the Kings playing Rudy at the 4 there was a play where Rudy and Cuz were both in the high post. The PG passed to Rudy, Cuz came over to pretend to set a screen for Rudy and then Cuz rolled to the basket and got a pass from Rudy in excellent post position. Marvin Williams was forced to rotate to cover Cousins deep in the post which resulted in an easy basket for Cuz. The very next offensive possession the Kings ran the exact same play except this time Biyombo doubled Rudy more aggressively. This forced Rudy to dribble out of the double team but this left Derek Williams open on the wing and Cousins in great post position. Rudy hit Derek Williams with the pass and he had a solid look for 3 and he also had Cousins in great post position. Unfortunately it's Derek Williams and he bricked the 3.
Later in the 4th, the Kings ran the pick and pop with Cousins. Cousins got the ball at the top of the key, turned down the open jumper, drove to the basket and beat Biyombo with a beautiful euro-step. The next possession the Kings ran the same pick and pop and cousins had a wide open look from 18 feet out but he turned down the shot, drove to the basket and kicked it to a person in the corner. In my opinion Cousins can be a great pick and pop player. He shot over 45% last season from the top of the key and has the ability to attack the basket effectively from that spot of the floor. Sending him out to the 3 point line is just stupid because if he puts the ball on the floor from out there, it’s just a turnover waiting to happen.
The pace and what you call the offense doesn’t matter. The Kings need to be able to do two things with Cousins to have success: post him up effectively and get him open at the top of the key where he can shoot or attack the basket. Forget having Cuz bring up the ball on the break and forget having him shoot 3s.
I saw a lot that I liked down the stretch against the Hornets. In the middle of the 4th with the Kings playing Rudy at the 4 there was a play where Rudy and Cuz were both in the high post. The PG passed to Rudy, Cuz came over to pretend to set a screen for Rudy and then Cuz rolled to the basket and got a pass from Rudy in excellent post position. Marvin Williams was forced to rotate to cover Cousins deep in the post which resulted in an easy basket for Cuz. The very next offensive possession the Kings ran the exact same play except this time Biyombo doubled Rudy more aggressively. This forced Rudy to dribble out of the double team but this left Derek Williams open on the wing and Cousins in great post position. Rudy hit Derek Williams with the pass and he had a solid look for 3 and he also had Cousins in great post position. Unfortunately it's Derek Williams and he bricked the 3.
Later in the 4th, the Kings ran the pick and pop with Cousins. Cousins got the ball at the top of the key, turned down the open jumper, drove to the basket and beat Biyombo with a beautiful euro-step. The next possession the Kings ran the same pick and pop and cousins had a wide open look from 18 feet out but he turned down the shot, drove to the basket and kicked it to a person in the corner. In my opinion Cousins can be a great pick and pop player. He shot over 45% last season from the top of the key and has the ability to attack the basket effectively from that spot of the floor. Sending him out to the 3 point line is just stupid because if he puts the ball on the floor from out there, it’s just a turnover waiting to happen.
The pace and what you call the offense doesn’t matter. The Kings need to be able to do two things with Cousins to have success: post him up effectively and get him open at the top of the key where he can shoot or attack the basket. Forget having Cuz bring up the ball on the break and forget having him shoot 3s.
That is a great post! I think your last sentence sums it up exactly right. Cousins is probably one of the best mid-range shooters that we have, big man or not. He also has great driving skills and can blow by just about any other big man in the league which should draw fouls and get other players open with defensive help. Perhaps that's what Cousins should practice, finding teammates off of the dribble instead of practicing 3-point shots. Regardless, I think Cousins and the team in general gets much better when get more consistent 3-point shooters here which I'm sure will be a priority in the offseason.
