My crystal ball is telling me that DeMarcus “Boogie” Cousins will be the best big man in the NBA by season’s end. Bold prediction right? I say no. DeMarcus Cousins is set to have his best season as a pro, and I am here to tell you this before it happens. The 24 year-old pro has scratched the surface as one of the best young talents in the NBA, but this is the year he takes it to another level. I am fine with people calling Cousins’ UK brethren Anthony Davis the next to blossom, and I believe that is true, but Cousins will show people in the NBA that he will be the best big man by the end of the season.
Cousins has averaged 18 ppg to go along with 10 rebounds per game over a four year period. Cousins has been on some bad teams, and he still is on a not so good team, but I feel that he can be the player that can turn around his teams’ fortune. In a day when “big men” want to play as guards– Cousins offers a blend of old school and new school with his game. Cousins has the ability to face up and hit the midrange jump shot, and he is close to unstoppable in the post. Boogie Cousins averaged a career best 22ppg and 11rebounds last season, and I can see that total improving in both categories. As a team the Kings took a step back in the point guard department as they replaced Isaiah Thomas with Darren Collison, but I believe with Rudy Gay and Cousins teaming up this summer in the FIBA basketball cup it gives them a head start to help lead the younger players on the team.
History shows that playing any type of Olympic basketball can raise one’s confidence, and with Gay and Cousins being one of two sets of teammates playing in the FIBA basketball cup it gives them a different type of swagger. Cousins already knows that he can’t be stopped, and it has been taken to new heights as he proved that he can play at a high level with and against his fellow NBA peers in International play.
The Kings may not look like a playoff team because they play in the brutal western conference. With a new owner in Vivek Ranadivé the Kings will be wheeling and dealing looking to make a trade to put them in position to make a run at a playoff berth. There may be some question marks looming in Sacramento, but there is one thing that is for certain, and that is Boogie Cousins taking the next step to being the best big man in the NBA. Don’t believe me– just watch.
