The Bucks are about to break up with Demarcus Cousins, so why are they looking for another substitute interior? / Bucks to move on from DeMarcus Cousins; here's why they're still searching for a backup big man
Published: January 6, 2021 US time
Publisher: the Athletic
Article author: Eric Nim
Article translated by de Gaulle
On January 6, Beijing time, in the Bucks home game with the Raptors, DeMarcus Cousins came off the bench for 20 minutes and got the highest 15 points and 10 rebounds among the bench players. But on the same day, the Bucks have officially informed Cousins that by January 8, Beijing time, the team plans to lay him off to avoid his contract being converted to a guaranteed contract.
For Cousins, such a news is undoubtedly another heavy blow. The 31-year-old center has averaged 9.1 points and 5.8 rebounds in 17 games for the Bucks this season. While the data is average, Cousins' arrival has added to the Bucks' currently desperately needed height. So why don't the Bucks want to keep Cousins in the lineup?
On November 30, 2021 local time, the Bucks officially signed Cousins. The main reason for this signing is that bucks' main center Brooke López has been plagued by a low back injury after the season opener and has not returned until now. Most of the time, the Bucks can only rely on the two forwards of "Alphabet Brother" and Portis to make cameos to play centers. Therefore, Cousins's arrival is to increase the strength of the Bucks' internal line and reduce the burden on Alphabet Brother and Portis.
However, from the moment he signed, Cousins should also understand that he is not in the Bucks' future plans, after all, the team gave him only a non-guarantee contract, which in itself shows that the Bucks do not have much hope for him. According to the rules of the Alliance, all non-guaranteed contracts will be converted to full coverage at 5 p.m. Et on January 7 and 6:00 a.m. Beijing time on January 8. So, before that point in time, the Bucks made one of the above decisions about Cousins' future.
When they first signed, the Bucks positioned Cousins as a substitute for each game to win some rest time for the main players. As for the technical and tactical execution on the court, Cousins has two main tasks - to help the team protect the rebound at the defensive end, and to use his long-range shooting to open up space at the offensive end, to create opportunities for teammates such as Alphabet Brother to impact the basket.
Judging from his performance over the past month or so, Cousins has partially completed his task. First of all, his attendance is also very good. After joining the Bucks, the team played a total of 19 games, while Cousins missed only 2 games in total. The first was in early December, when Cousins had just returned to the field and the team doctor asked him to take a break to adjust his physical condition; the second was in mid-December, when Cousins was absent due to personal matters. In addition, Cousins has appeared in the remaining 17 games.
In the process, the Bucks also suffered from a number of main players who triggered health and safety clauses and truces, and alphabet brothers and Portis have both truceed because of this. During that period of shortmanship, Cousins was transferred to the starting lineup in five games. At the end of December, in two back-to-back games against the Rockets and Lone Rangers, Cousins, who started in 2 games, averaged 20.0 points and 8.0 rebounds, which made people vaguely see his peak style that year.
However, although Cousins occasionally has amazing performances and statistics, if you look at it as a whole, his performance does not meet the requirements of the Bucks. As mentioned earlier, the Bucks gave Cousins two specific mission goals. On the offensive end, Cousins has shot 48 three-pointers in 17 games, and he has only shot 13 of them, and the 27.1% three-point shooting rate is obviously unsatisfactory. In terms of protecting defensive rebounds, Cousins is relatively better than the offensive end. When he's on the floor, the Bucks can protect 78.3 percent of their defensive rebounds, which is at an excellent level in the league.
Still, a good rebounding steal doesn't mask all of Cousins' problems on the defensive end. According to statistics, when Cousins appeared, the Bucks' average 100-round loss points would reach 112.8 points, while the Bucks' average 100-round loss this season was only 107.7 points, and the gap between the two figures was very large. Moreover, if Cousins and Alphabet Brother appear together, although this is the most space-conscious lineup of the Bucks at present, the overall loss of points on the team will increase, which makes Bucks coach Budenholzer unable to send Cousins for a long time.
In recent years, Cousins has suffered serious injuries to both his left Achilles tendon and his left knee cruciate ligament, which has greatly reduced Cousins' once proud athleticism and greatly affected his movement on the defensive end. Since joining the Bucks, when opposing players meet Cousins under the basket, their shooting percentage will increase by 15.4% compared to when others are defending.
The ability to protect the basket has been severely reduced, and Cousins can only use fouls to stop opponents many times. In the 17 games he played for the Bucks this season, Cousins averaged 2.7 fouls per game. If you convert his playing time to the average 36 minutes of the main players, he will average 6.1 fouls per game. This also reflects from the side, Cousins has often become a living target for opponents.
All of these problems are reflected in the data, that is, when Cousins came on, the Bucks would lose an average of 6.6 points per 100 rounds. Because of this, the Bucks decided not to convert Cousins' contract into a guarantee contract and not to keep him on the team. Bucks general manager Joan Horst said he wants to keep the Bucks' lineup flexible and see if they can make a difference before the Feb. 10 trading deadline and the subsequent buyout market.
Currently, there are 2 players in the Bucks lineup whose contracts are non-guaranteed, except for Cousins, the other is Matthews. If the Bucks turn both contracts into guarantees, there will be 15 players in their lineup with guaranteed contracts, touching the NBA-mandated cap. As Horst said, in order to maintain the flexibility of the squad and to make room for players who may sign in the future, Cousins' departure from Milwaukee is almost a foregone conclusion.