This Is "The Year" For Demarcus Cousins

Its been 3 seasons since Demarcus Cousins set foot on an NBA basketball court for the Sacramento Kings and in that time a lot of drama has occurred but not many wins have. If we take a look at Cousins we see that he is 6'11 270 pounds but this guy has such a unique skill set for his size. He can play in the low post, high post, face up and back to the basket. He can run the floor at his size and still has the ability to stretch the defense with his jump shot. So the question we need to ask here is, why is such a premier talent not leading his team to the playoffs why hasn't he put it together? The Answer to that is simple and that’s because he hasn't matured and has a serious attitude problem but not everything is DMC's fault the Kings have never surrounded him with the right talent.

This season is the year for Cousins to put all the excuses and bad attitude behind him and become a team leader for a Kings team who made some additions to improve the team. Cousins needs to become that dominating force we all know he is capable of being in Sacramento this year he is 22 with 3 seasons in the league people who like him like myself as well as Kings management can no longer justify his horrible behavior any longer.

When evaluating Cousins game through his 1^st three season you can see that he is becoming more self aware of what he does and doesn’t do well. His field goal percentage has improved every year from his rookie season from 43% to 46%. Free throw percentage has increased from 68% to 73%. He has also managed to average 1 steal per season keep in mind that this guy is the teams Power Forward/Center. He also racked up 36 double-doubles which put him top 15 in the league in that category, that’s elite company. So although he may have a bad attitude lets keep in mind that this guy is improving.

This off season one acquisition that I believe be great for Cousins is the signing of Greivis Vasquez. Vasquez is a known facilitator at the point guard position which no disrespect to Isaiah Thomas and Jimmer Fredette is something Demarcus has never had in his entire career. This is a guy who just last season averaged 9 assists and was 2^nd among all starting point guards in double-doubles with 25. Vasquez is going to provide some much needed stability at the point guard position for Sacramento and will improve the ball movement which only improves life for Cousins.

So everything is there for the taking this season for Demarcus Cousins. He has had a busy summer surely he has been working hard. The Kings have improved the roster with guys like Greivis Vasquez and Ben Mclemore. He has experience in the league. Its all in the attitude if it gets corrected he is an all-star and becomes the focal point for success in Sacramento but if it dosen't its then he is also the focal point for failure. So whats it going to be Demarcus?? You said you want to be a King but do you want to make the word “Sacramento” mean something when you put that jersey on??

Atlanta Hawks Have A Steal In Dennis Schroeder

Over the last 10+ days I've been watching a lot of NBA summer league and have seen many of the leagues new fresh young talent. Few of them though have caught my eye as much as the 17^th overall in this years NBA draft Dennis Schroeder. The young German Point guard has displayed tremendous poise and at 19 years old already knows how to run an offense. His priority is defense first and when he is defending whoever he uses that 6'7 wingspan and doesn’t give his opponents that much space to get comfortable. With Jeff Teague potentially going to the Milwaukee Bucks it is possible that the 19 year old out of Germany might be the starting point guard for the Atlanta Hawks. If you aren't familiar with the German born point guard then let me get you familiar with him before the word gets out.

Schroeder played 2 years of pro basketball in Germany and also had some stints with the German U-18 and U-20. He caught the attention of many scouts at the annual Nike hoop summit held in Portland where the best high school talent in the world competes against each other. In a sea of top tier talent like Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker,Julius Randle and Aaron Gordon Schroeder managed to shine among them with 18 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists in 112-98 win for the World team over the USA.

I kept hearing good things about him among basketball fans I follow on Twitter so when I finally had the chance to watch him play I liked what I saw from immediately. Patience, poise and Intensity are a few words I would use to describe his game. All game long against the Kings he was matched up with Ray Mcallum and made his life a living hell giving very little room to maneuver. He gets low in that stance and uses all 6'7 of his wingspan to get his hands on the ball and force the opponent to make a bad decision with the ball. On offense he plays with a tremendous amount of patience for some one his age. In the pick&roll he makes quick decisions and takes what the defense gives him. If they go under the screen he shots the jumper or if they pack the paint then he just swings the ball and gets his team into the offensive set immediately.

I think the Hawks got a steal at #17 with Dennis Schroeder any young point guard who can run an offense patiently and makes defense his top priority makes any team better. Might be one of the top value picks in the 2013 Draft. If you are unfamiliar with Schroeder and his game check out the video below.

Throwback Thursday: NBA Rappers

Today July 4^th happens to be the release date for the much anticipated “Magna Carta holy grail” album from rapper/mogul Jay-Z. He has 13 career#1 albums and love him or hate him he is a legend in the world of hip-hop. They say all rappers want to be basketball players and all basketball players want to be rappers well thats actually happened with guys like Ron Artest, Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant and Chris Webber all trying their hand at rapping. NBA players who rap will be the subject of today’s Throwback Thursday.

Some NBA players have a skill for rhyming and others should be grateful they can play ball at a high level. The most notable NBA MC is former Lakers big man Shaquille O'neal who has one platinum and one gold album. He has done songs with hip hop legends Ice Cube, Wu-Tang Clan and also Kobe Bryant. He is no legend but Shaq certainly has had his moments like in the song off his platinum album “Shaq Diesel” in a song titled “I'm Outstanding”. O'neal has done literally everything you could do for a basketball player business wise but this seemed like he genuinely loved rapping. Check the video below to see young Shaq doing his thing.

Ron Artest Like Shaq represents some of the good for NBA Rappers but to a lesser extent. He never had any platinum albums or gold albums or any critically acclaimed albums but he did have some success with his song “Champion” that he released after the Lakers captured the title in 2010. The song made its way on to NBA 2K11 and became the most popular song in the game instantly earning millions of views on Youtube.

Guys like Kevin Durant just do it for fun. He doesn’t have any albums but you can tell that his flow mirrors his playing style on the court which is silky smooth. Although he won't impress you lyrically he isn't as bad as say Kobe Bryant in his song with Tyra Banks. In his song “Worried about Tomorrow” he shows you that he is a legit rapper, Ive even heard people say “KD has bars”.

One guy who I personally liked out of the NBA Rappers was Sacramento Kings great Chris Webber who was featured on west coach legend Kurupt's song “Gangsta Gangsta” its not that bad and he looks and sounds like he knows what he is doing. Had Webber put his time into rhyming like he did as a baller who know he would have turned out.

Allen Iverson might be the only guy on this list who looks like both a rapper and a basketball player at the same time but he had his moments on tracks like “40 bars”. Iverson's music can pretty much be summed on how he did things on and off the court which was his way.

Kobe Braynt has a pretty funny rap career he is most famous for his self titled song “K.O.B.E” featuring Tyra Banks which pretty much is the biggest joke when it comes to NBA rappers. What most people don't realize though is that he is actually a dope rapper on skill alone he might be the best rapper on the list. He a did song with Shaq titled “3x dope” he goes raps under the moniker “K-raw”. In the song he had the 1^st verse and to be quite honest it didn't even sound like Kobe Bryant he sounded like an underground rapper that knew what he was doing. So in terms of Kobe Bryant's rap career, he is trolling all of you fools. Check the videos below to see what I’m speaking about.

The Bad

The Good

So NBA players are rappers too but some of them need to stick to their day job because they aren't going to touch Jay-Z.......Unless Kobe comes out of retirement.

Throwback Thursday: 2002 Sacramento Kings

As I am Typing this the Western Conference Finals is over and the San Antonio Spurs have swept the Memphis Grizzlies. As I was watching this series unfold my mind like it usually does began to to wander off into thinking about one of the most memorable Western conference finals of all-time. I'm speaking about the 2002 edition of the WCF that series featured Chris Webber and the Sacramento Kings who squared of with Kobe Bryant and the LA Lakers who were in the midst of starting a dynasty. This is known by many as the most controversial series in NBA history and is the subject of today’s edition of throwback Thursday.

The Back story

Before the series between the Kings and Lakers even got started the records between the two teams read like this. For the Sacramento Kings they were 61-21 with the best record in the west. The Lakers were not to far behind the Kings with a record of 58-24. Although the Kings had the best record in the conference they had a record of 1-3 vs the Lakers in the regular season, so they were still the new kids on the block.

The Stats

Put the two teams players stats side by side and the Top 2 for the Lakers were just a bit better then the top 2 for the Kings.

(Per game stats)

Shaq: 27 Points 10 Rebounds 2 Blocks

Kobe: 25 Points 5 Rebounds 5 Assists 2 steals

Webber: 25 Points 10 Rebounds 5Assists 2 Steals 1 Block

Peja:21 Points 5 Rebounds 1 Steal 41%3-point shooter

Very Evenly matched as far as the top goes with the edge going to the Lakers but where things look very lopsided statistically is within the role players of both these teams. Outside of Kobe and Shaq the Lakers only had 1 play averaging 10 points per game and that was Derek Fisher at 11.2 points per game who back then had enough hair to get a 15$ haircut at the local barbershop.

The Kings on the Other hand had 5 guys beside Chris Webber and Peja who averaged 10 points per game or more (Mike Bibby,Doug Christie, Bobby Jackson,Vlade Divac and Hedo Turkoglu). The highest was Bibby at 14 points per game. My main man Gerald Wallace even averaged 3.8 points per game for that Kings team.The Sacramento Kings certainly had depth on their side.

The Series through 5 games

Through 5 games Sacramento had a 3-2 lead but two things kept this thing from being a short series for the Lakers.

#1 Stealing home-court in game 1

When you bust your tail all season to earn home-court advantage you must never allow the road team to steal that from you and that’s exactly what the Lakers did in game 1 with a 106-99 victory in Sacramento.

#2 Robert Horry Shot In Game 4

“Can't forget about Jordan's retirement/Can't forget about Robert Horry's shot to win the game in the finals kid”. Nas stated that very eloquently in his song “Can't forget about you” and Robert Horry Kings fans will never forget about you. Had that shot not went in the Kings could have won this thing in 5 and advanced to the NBA Finals but this shot kept the Lakers alive.

With both of those negatives though the reality was that the Kings still had a 3-2 lead on the defending champs and were just 1 win away from taking the city and the franchise to the finals for the first time ever.........then there was game 6.

Tim Donaghy

Ever heard of referee Tim Donaghy? He was the guy who made bets on games he officiated and would make calls depending on the point spread so he could make money. The former NBA ref even admits that the NBA would effect the outcome of the games using referees. He also admits that he as well as his colleagues were not allowed to call technical fouls or throw out certain star players. Why is this relevant? Because this is the guy who in a report back in 2008 stated that Game 6 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals was fixed.

Game 6

So it was a beautiful for basketball in LA as the Staples Center crowd was sold out yet again for game 6. At the end of three quarters is was all tied up 75-75 the scoreboard read. The Kings had to win one more quarter to defeat the defending champion Lakers but then controversy struck. The 4^th Quarter saw LA take 18 free throws and it was the most lopsided horrible officiating in the history of the league. There is certainly a reason Kings fans and NBA fans both call this a fixed series. In the 4^th quarter of a series like this in game 6 you got to swallow the damn whistle so fans can watch the players play, they don't pay to watch free throws but keep this in mind. Shaquille O'neal has always been made fun of for his free throw shooting and in that game 6 he shot 13-17 from the line which is pretty good for him. Kobe went perfect at 11-11, even though the officiating was lopsided they hit most of they're free throws. The Kings missed 7 free throws and lost by 4 points so some of this is on them but the Refs certainly didn't help giving the Lakers all those chances. The Lakers won game 6 by a score of 106-102 and would go onto win the series in 7 games and would go on to capture their 3^rd straight NBA title completing the “3 Peat”.

The Legacy

All though that Kings team remains a what if tale they are certainly not forgotten. Many long time NBA fans call them “the real NBA Finals Champions of 2002” and it is a valid argument and an understandable way to feel. We can argue as fans that it was fixed but we will never truly know but I will say this the 2002 Sacramento Kings are the greatest team to never win the NBA Finals so much depth and top level skill they certainly deserved one. So many players like Chris Webber, Mike Bibby,Peja Stoakavic,Doug Christie and Vlade Divac a pretty complete team that played hard night In and night out that wanted to punch you in the mouth and let you know what Sacramento Basketball was all about. I remember when I used to play NBA Live 2005 they were the highest rated team in the game and surely the hardest to beat. Look around Kings games even to this day and in the stands people still sport #4, #16 and #10 jerseys the memory of that Kings team is still fresh in the minds of those loyal fans and for a team that almost relocated this off-season they represent a golden era. Sacramento fans can only hope that they talk about Demarcus Cousins they way they talk about Chris Webber.

Were the Kings victimized of a fixed series? Are they the greatest team to never win the NBA Finals?

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Throwback Thursday: Fleer 90 Kevin Johnson

As the Playoffs are happening right now many memorable moments are being made as we speak. One of the Most memorable dunks in the History of the playoffs came when Kevin Johnson of the Phoenix Suns dunked on the Great Hakeem Olajuwon in the 2^nd round of the 1994 Playoffs. The other day I was going through some boxes and I came across this.

I collect mainly baseball but when going through a bunch of scattered  cards I came across this Sweet Kevin Johnson Fleer 90 which didn’t even know that I had so it was a bit of a pleasant surprise. I have always had a tremendous amount of respect for KJ on and off the court for what he did on the court in Phoenix to what He is doing now as the Mayor in Sacramento. I think what he has done for basketball from both sides of the spectrum warrants some Hall of Fame consideration. All in all this is a sweet card and only the 2^nd base card in the Fleer 90 set I have besides Muggsy Bouges.

NBA 2k13

Anybody who knows me knows that I am a huge NBA 2K fan and recently this Saturday got the chance to play it NBA 2k13 this Saturday for the 1st time. Let me tell you I heard all about the improvement’s that the 2K game developers made but when you play the game it is a complete 180 from 2k12. The Ball handling and dribble moves are much smoother with all dribble moves being moved to the analog stick for Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. Now it is easier and more enjoyable to get creative with your crossovers and dribble penetration. Also When you dribble the Basketball into a defender you don’t get that bump the defender actually plays with the Ball handler and allows the ball handler to beat the defender with a move and makes defending a lot more challenging. Take for example when I was playing my Friend Hamiyd and my Ball handler was Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Chris Bosh was the defender he was playing incredibly aggressive on MKG and I hit him with an in and out crossover to the left in traffic which led to a thunderous dunk by the rookie. In last year’s game that wasn’t possible because if a defender played you tight more times then not you would wind up dribbling it off the defender’s foot or getting the ball stolen. So the game play has definitely improved. Another cool feature is the dunk meter which measures the intensity of you dunks.

Another thing I always look for in NBA 2K Is to see what classic teams or what classic players have been put in the new installment of the game. This year 2k Sports went all out in that department adding some of my favorite players and classic teams such as Allen Iverson, Elgin Baylor, And the 2001 Sacramento Kings with Chris Webber, Bibby and Peja and of course it returns Muggsy Bouges and the 92-93 Charlote Hornets. But the most important addition was adding the 1992 Dream team and this years Olympic team to settle the debate between the younger and older generation on who is better on the sticks. The game all around is more improved and more enjoyable for all basketball fans and most importantly a hell of a lot more realistic. It is most defiantly a must buy!