New Orleans Pelicans: The DeMarcus Cousins turnover solution

The New Orleans Pelicans have to be happy with the way DeMarcus Cousins has played for them this year. That being said, he comes with his fair share of problems. I’m not talking about the infamous anger issues either, I’m talking about the turnovers. There’s a simple solution to that though.

Watch one New Orleans Pelicans game and it’s easy to come to the conclusion that DeMarcus Cousins is one of the best big men in basketball. However, he has a glaring flaw in his game.

Turnovers have been a thorn in the side of the Pelicans all year. They’re third-worst in the NBA with 15.3 per game. This is where the fatal flaw of Cousins comes into play.

Of those 15.3, Cousins is contributing 5.0 per game. That’s the worst in the NBA.

There are four main examples of a Cousins turnover.

1. Offensive fouls
2. Full court pass attempts
3. Driving to the basket with his head down
4. Trying to run the offense

Cousins is a big dude. That’s something everyone can agree on. Listed at 6’11”, 270 lbs, he’s bound to use his size and strength on the court. Due to that, he tends to get the occasional offensive fouls.

I can live with these as it comes with the territory of being so big. If he didn’t throw his weight around he might cut back on the offensive fouls, but he wouldn’t be as dominant either.

The full court pass attempts are another example of turnovers I can live with. Cousins is one of the better big man outlet passers in basketball. He can throw a perfect strike to a streaking teammate for an easy two points just as good as almost anyone.

As someone who gets a lot of rebounds and a solid number of steals, he gets a decent number of outlet pass attempts. There’s bound to be some overthrows, and in the end, the good outweighs the bad.

Now we’re into “I can’t live with that” territory. Cousins has a tendency to get the ball at the top of the key and put his head down while running towards the basket.

This leads to jump balls, Cousins getting stripped, and him missing wide open teammates.

It leads to Cousins making a tough layup or getting fouled on occasion as well, but he seems to miss better opportunities more than anything.

Finally, there’s the biggest culprit. When the Pelicans decide it’s time to run their offense from one of the best post-scorers in the NBA.

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Cousins can shoot the three well, has decent handles, and is an incredibly gifted passer for someone his size.

With all that being said, he shouldn’t get the ball at half court and run point. Nevertheless, this seems to happen during a large number of possessions each game.

What’s the point of having Rajon Rondo (literally on the team to facilitate) and such a versatile player like Jrue Holiday if you have them hand it off to Cousins and let him play point guard?

I’ll answer this one for you; there is no point. This is simply not what should be happening.

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Turnovers are part of the game. If you play (and especially command the ball as much as Cousins) you’re bound to get a few. Sometimes they’re avoidable though, and cutting back on “Point Boogie” seems like an easy solution.