The Cousin's Dilemma

It's about time the Kings suspended DeMarcus cousins. Phil Jackson is right to recommend psychological counseling. Without counseling, Cousins will wind up bouncing around the NBA, moving out of trouble into trouble, always far short of playing to his potential, and let's be clear, DeMarcus Cousins has enormous potential. The only quick fix I can think of is trading him to the Boston Celtics and let Garnett, Rondo, and Pierce, and Coach Doc Rivers have crack at him. Perhaps, surrounded by strong, intelligent, hardworking superstar players and directed by a coach with a strong reputation, the kid might, (I stress might) get his act together. The Kings could ask for Jeff Green, Jard Sullinger, Avery Bradley and a first round draft choice. They might go for that, or something close to it. The Kings would get young talent and two first round picks in 2113.  The Celtics would be a force with DeMarcus in the middle.

Enough said on the mental health side of things and trades.

Last night as the Cousin's drama was unfolding I was watching NBA Gametime listening to Isiah Thomas talking about how the NBA game has evolved from a center dominated game to a point guard/penetration type game. I knew that, but Thomas provided some extra food for thought.

This morning I read in the sports page that one of Cousin's big grips is that his teammates don't pass him the ball enough or at the right time (the reason he had a fight with Donte Green). Humm, I thought, perhaps the kid has a legitimate grip. As I recalled the King's games I've watched, I came to the conclusion that the ball does NOT go in to Cousins nearly enough. If I had my way, 65 % of the offense would start with the big man. But, that kind of inside/out offense does not fit the new NBA paradigm.

It would be interesting to me to see what would happen if every time the Kings could not create a fast break opportunity (however they wanted to structure that), they started their half court set with a pass to the big man. Cousins is an excellent passer. He has good vision and soft hands. Create a passing and cutting offense, players filling in from the weakside. In and out, set and reset, side to side. The more Cousins becomes a force in the low block the more defenses must collapse on him to help, which opens up outside shooters. Freddette, Brooks, and Thorton shooting without a hand in their face? I like that idea a lot.

As for Cousins, force him to be the player he can be. Make him the lynch-pin of the offense. Tell him exactly what he needs to do: DeMarcus you must produce 18 points a night, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists and block shots. Challenge him to be a triple double man.

Will this happens? Who knows? But, in Cousin's case, it might be good idea to return to the old school post-up offense. Models change all the time. Pendulums swing back.

Here's a small poem I wrote about Michael Jordan.

Michael Jordan   by Tom Meschery

His air curves upward
while all the rest of us,
misguided,
say we "hang."
Disconsolate and
earthbound, we know
our air merely descends.
He stays aloft,
legs splayed, tongue
a puppy flap.
Happy, so happy
four centuries later
to prove Newton wrong.