Center- DeMarcus Cousins
In any lineup featuring the current Kings roster, it is nearly impossible to leave out Mister Cousins. Most of you have read my thoughts on Cousins offensive game and statistics recently, so I want to talk about his defensive prowess. Last season, Cousins averaged 9.1 defensive rebounds, 1.6 steals, and 1.4 blocks per game. Those are an impressive combination of statistics. He averaged 11.5 total rebounds per game last year. According to nba.com/stats, Cousins and Andre Drummond were the only two qualifying players in the NBA last season to average more than 10 rebounds, 1.5 steals or more, and 1.4 blocks or more per game.
If you care to read more about Cousins’ offensive game, you can find an article I wrote about his best shot areas here. You can also read more about his offensive game in the Kings best offensive rotations piece found here.
Advanced Metrics
It is not just the fans or All-Star appearances or All-NBA team selections, the advanced metrics love DeMarcus Cousins too. The last three seasons combined Cousins has a box score plus/minus of positive 4.3 offensive and positive 7.8 defensive. His VORP is positive 9.9. His three-year combined win shares are 9.3 offensive and 10.3 defensive. His average win shares per 48 minutes in those three seasons are 0.144, well above the league average of 0.100. All stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference unless otherwise noted. Cousins is a dominant offensive player, but the advanced metrics actually rate him better on defense. Cousins is truly one of the NBA’s best players.