DeMarcus Cousins had a poor season last year. He was bad offensively and should have been a little bit better on defense. Cousins turned the ball over far too much for a power forward. He also led the league in fouls committed. While these are mistakes that can be corrected with experience, I think that Cousins will continue to foul too much.

Throw out the 14.1 points per game because we all know that PPG is a bad stat. Cousins was a terrible offensive player last year, and his mediocre D did not offset his poor offensive play. He was terribly inefficient and has far too high of a usage rate. His usage rate would be about average for a guard, and he also can't play offense. That's a really bad combination, and it led to a 14.6 PER. Cousins also had one of the lowest True Shooting marks in the NBA.

Cousins was so bad offensively that he was the worst player in the NBA in terms of offensive win shares. Now that's horrible. You can definitely find worse defenders than Cousins, and I think he'll develop into a solid defensive player if he can cut down on his fouls. I don't think he does that with his style of play, but I still think he can be a decent defender in the NBA.

The best thing about Cousins is that he is a solid rebounder. He's able to rack up the boards with his 6-11 frame, but I don't think he should have ever been on the All-Rookie First Team. He's a subpar player right now, and I think he ends up as just a mediocre player over his career.

The former 5th pick in the draft out of Kentucky's behavior problems and immaturity issues also bring his stock down. I really don't see much to like about Cousins, and I think he was a very overrated rookie. What other term is there to describe a guy with a 14.6 PER who ended up on the All-Rookie First Team?

1st Team All-Rookie; Are You Kidding Me?

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Posted By: Joe Soriano - Category: NBA, NBA Player Profiles, Kings, DeMarcus Cousins

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5/2011 Team Scope: Sacramento Kings

May 11th 2011 14:36

What does the future hold for the Kings? Where are they going to go? Their days in Sacramento are certainly numbered, and there are really no other options for a team that has put itself into financial disarray due to low revenue and poor contracts. I don't want to answer these hypothetical questions right now. I want to talk about this team from a personnel perspective.

Marcus Thornton played in 27 games for the Kings, and the shooting guard was easily the team's best player in those games. He's the main scoring threat on the Kings, and that's not a good thing. The Kings don't really have a marquee player. I have never really been sold on Tyreke Evans as that kind of guy, and his poor season last year proved my doubts.

The loss of Carl Landry was a huge one for the Kings. Although they got Thornton in that trade with the Hornets, Landry is the better player. Thornton's better as a scorer, but Landry beats him in every other part of the game. Beno Udrih was the only other player on the Kings to play at least 1,000 minutes and have a decent season. Udrih was the best shooter on the Knicks, and he was without a doubt their most important player. Udrih is not a star, so this shows just how bad the Kings are.

Rookie DeMarcus Cousins was average on the offense end, but he was decent on the defensive end. He was a solid rebounder in 2010, but there was a major problem. He never established himself, and he spent more time in the spotlight because of his poor behavior than for his on-the-court play. Cousins was not special.

Francisco Garcia makes far too much money for a subpar player who's only asset is his three-point shooting. I mean, I don't see any special players on the roster. I see three decent players in Udrih, Thornton, and Evans. Aside from them, though, there isn't much to like about the Kings. There's a reason they're one of the worst teams in the NBA; they just don't have a player that we can classify as being "very good".

Led Kings in Win Shares

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Posted By: Joe Soriano - Category: NBA, NBA Teams, Hornets, Carl Landry, Kings, Tyreke Evans, Beno Udrih, DeMarcus Cousins, Francisco Garcia, Marcus Thornton

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No.1 vs. No. 2 Seed in NBA

April 7th 2011 14:36

The Spurs clinched the number one seed in the West after a win against Sacramento and a Lakers' loss against the Warriors. Everyone has been talking a lot about it, but I'm here to tell you that all this talk is meaningless. The title of this post is a verbal irony that almost sums up my feelings on this subject.

When you think about it, the one and two seeds are elite teams that are pretty much evenly matched. Only a few games will separate these teams, but a team's record really isn't that important come playoff time. The only advantage the number one seed has over the number two seed is that they get the home court advantage- one game- over the two seed. That one game is further devalued when you take into account that any elite team can still win games on the road.

The number one seed is important when you factor in that there are seven teams they will have the advantage against. I hypothesized that there is a 90 percent chance of the first seed beating the eighth seed and a 65 percent chance of them beating the fourth or fifth seed.

I also hypothesized that there is an 85 percent chance of the two seed beating the 7 seven seed and a 60 percent chance of them beating either the third or sixth seed. The first seed's totals multiply out to be 59 percent, and the two seed's chances are about 51 percent. There is only an 8 percent difference in the probability of the first seed and second seed getting to the conference finals.

Furthermore, there is about a 30 percent chance in total- multiply .59 and .51- of the one and two seeds facing eachother. The only advantage the one seed has on the two seed is that one extra home game that the two seed can easily overcome. Therefore, the difference between the one and two seed is extremely little. I divided one by seven- one extra game in a seven game series- and multiplied it by .38- probability of match-up plus strength of schedule- to show that there is only a 5 percent difference between the top two seeds in terms of playoff advantage.

The Debate is Meaningless

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Posted By: Joe Soriano - Category: NBA, Spurs, Warriors, Lakers, Kings, NBA Analysis, NBA Playoffs

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3/13 Hoop Talk: East Still Far Behind West

March 13th 2011 14:37

Take a look at your standings. A .415 team, whether it be the Pacers or Bobcats, could actually make the playoffs. Yes, a team with no defensive effort and a team in rebuilding mode might actually get there. The disparity between good and bad in the Eastern Conference is so great that the Bulls have already clinched their division- which has the Pacers in it. Three teams have clinched the playoffs in the East, compared to just one- San Antonio- in the West. The Memphis Grizzlies have the 8th seed in the West, and they are a pretty good basketball team. The East is definitely playing better basketball than it has in the past couple of years collectively, but I still think that they are far behind the West. Depth Matters.

I love how Matt Bonner has the highest 3 point percentage this season. Yes, a power forward is the best three point shooter in the NBA this year. Who knew? Well, Bonner is like Nowtizki in that he is great at spreading the floor- Channing Frye is another one of those guys. They are becoming a little more used in the NBA these days, and that's a good thing for offenses. Best free throw percentage? Yeah, that's Stephen Curry. He's going to be great one day. I love that guy. He should have been rookie of the year last year. All the box score idiots looked at the stats and didn't watch how great Curry was when he played. Curry is a natural shooter- his father is Del- and he plays D, passes, attacks the rim, and can lead already at this age.

Turnovers per game is the most overrated statistic ever, because the top 12 people with the most turnovers are the guys that play over 30 minutes per game and are the focal points of their offense. They are the ones handling the ball and passing it the most. I just hate that stat. It's like, Steve Nash isn't really the 6th most turnover prone player in the league. That's why I love advanced stats. They actually make sense.

I really wish Kevin Martin was recognized as a star. He is one of the best scorers in the game that is very efficient, he shoots impeccably, and he doesn't get much recognition from fans. People don't think of Martin as a star player, but they should. He's better than Tyreke Evans- who isn't a star, I would take him over Andrew Bynum, and I think he is at least as good as LaMarcus Aldridge.

Should've Been 09 ROY

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Posted By: Joe Soriano - Category: NBA, Celtics, Pacers, Bobcats, Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Martin, Grizzlies, Spurs, Matt Bonner, LaMarcus Aldridge, Stephen Curry, Andrew Bynum, Channing Frye, Steve Nash, Tyreke Evans, NBA Analysis

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Reviewing the Gerald Wallace and Celtics' Trades

February 25th 2011 16:19

The Boston Celtics traded Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson for a 2012 first round pick, Nenad Kristic, and Jeff Green. The Oklahoma City Thunder were the winners in this deal. Green really won't fit anywhere on Boston, and Kristic sucks. The pick is for 2012 from a trade that the Thunder acquired from the Clippers. It is a solid first round pick, but it's the best thing Boston got.

Boston did a good job of getting rid of Robinson, but they traded the best piece in this deal by trading away Kendrick Perkins. The Thunder now have a big to pair with Nick Collins and the others that can help stifle the Lakers. This makes them better in a matchup against LA. Boston got the short end of this stick, which is a surprise considering they have the best GM in Danny Ainge. Maybe he knows something that we don't. It wasn't a terrible deal for Boston, but it sure wasn't a good one

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Posted By: Joe Soriano - Category: NBA, Celtics, Nenad Kristic, Jeff Green, Danny Ainge, Cavs, Luke Harangody, Semih Erden, Bobcats, DJ White, Morris Peterson, Joel Przybilla, Dante Cunningham, Sean Marks, Rockets, Hasheem Thabeet, DeMarre Carroll, Goran Dragic, Grizzlies, Ish Smith, Shane Battier, Thunder, Kendrick Perkins, Nate Robinson, Nick Collison, Nazr Mohammed, Blazers, Gerald Wallace, Clippers, Lakers, Suns, Aaron Brooks, Kings, Marquis Daniels, NBA Analysis

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Reviewing Deron, Baron, and Hinrich Trades

February 24th 2011 17:57

Deron Williams has been a headcase for a while. He conceitedly called himself the best point guard in the league, and his ego caused great coach Jerry Sloan to re-sign. Williams publicly announced that he would leave after the 2011 season when he would become a free agent. When you combine this all together, it's no surprise that Williams was traded to the New Jersey Nets for prospect Derrick Favors, two first rounders, 3 million, and Devin Harris. I am going to explain why the Jazz got the upper-hand in this trade.

Make no mistake. I think Deron Williams is a phenomenal player and one of the best 10 in the league. Williams may not be the best point guard in the league like he says he is, but he is still only second to Chris Paul. He is an elite player that is incredible at driving, passing, drawing fouls, and he is a strong player that plays solid defense. The problem was that he was no longer the face of the franchise. He was becoming a reckless ego, and the Jazz are also a couple million over the luxury tax cap. Nobody wants to pay that bill. As great as Deron is, is he really that much better than Harris? Is the gap between Harris and Williams really cash and basically three first rounders? The answer is a simple no

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