Cousins' 1st Night As A Pelican
^(AFP Photo/Jonathan Bachman)
February 23rd, 2017 was a monumental night for two struggling franchises in the NBA. The Sacramento Kings were looking for a fresh start and a self-described "culture change". The New Orleans Pelicans saw an opportunity to grab the best center in the league, and so here we are.
Last night the Kings played the Denver Nuggets at the Golden 1 Center while the Pelicans were taking on the Rockets at the Smoothie King Center. Both home crowds were buzzing in anticipation of their respective new-look teams., and the results were.....half of what I expected.
Pelicans First Game W/DeMarcus Cousins:
Cousins' first game as a Pelican went almost exactly as I expected, and that is nothing to be proud of or boast about. But nevertheless, it went down as scripted.
The New Orleans faithful was excited, and Boogie Cousins gave them something to cheer about. He scored 27 points on 57.9% shooting, and it was awesome. However, Anthony Davis and Omri Casspi were the only other Pelicans to score in double figures.
Plays involving Cousins and Davis were extremely effective. Especially actions where Cousins was put in a position to throw post-entry passes to Davis. New Orleans head coach Alvin Gentry made the transition on offense easy by giving Cousins lots of shots from familiar spots on the floor. Cousins shot 1-for-5 from the 3-point line, but the fact that he got his fair share of post ups and spot up opportunities bodes well for his All-NBA chances.
On defense you see some of the same issues. Cousins did end up with five steals and four blocks in his Pels debut, but he was often caught out of position and flat-footed as Lou Williams and other Rockets guards flew past him. He has the quickness to close out on floor-spacing forwards, but his habit of being late on rotations still results in his teammates having to make rotations that in turn give up open 3s. Long story short, an open shot comes from a defensive breakdown and too often those breakdowns start with Cousins.
Oh, and by the way the Pelicans lost the game by 30 points. Cousins is not the problem however, he is the start of the solution. If New Orleans had more talent on the roster Cousins' defensive short-comings would be mitigated.
