DeMarcus Cousins is being talked about as the best big man in the draft, and one of the reasons is that he has such a polished post game despite only being 19 years old.  Let’s take a look at his post game:

The Seal

The seal might be the most important part of a players post game in my opinion.  You make a good seal, you create a passing lane for your teammate and get the ball in a position to score.  A weak seal, and you don’t get the basketball, or you get it too far to execute your move.

DeMarcus Cousins really uses his body well when he seals off his defender in the post.  The wide base is what makes this a beautiful seal.  With a defender trying to half front him, Cousins gets really wide and puts the defender on his front leg.  If Cousins doesn’t have a wide base, the defender would be able to get his hand in the passing lane.  Instead, there seems to be a clear lane for the passer to get the ball to Cousins when he stretches his hand out.  Now, the pass doesn’t get to him, but that isn’t Cousins fault.

Here is another one on a play where he actually gets the pass in.  Notice how he beat his defender (who was trying to front him) to the spot he wants to be at, and then he just lets his size take over.  He keeps his big frame in front of his defender, allowing for a nice passing lane to get the ball through.

The Catch

The catch is important, because most post players seem to get moved out of the way when the ball is entered to them.  This is because they lose usually give up their post up posture to make the catch, relaxing their body.  When that happens, the defender playing behind usually can get a good shove:

Notice where he catches the pass vs. where the seal was made (the second seal picture).  Not much of a difference.  This is because Cousins is so big that it is hard to push him out, even when he isn’t actively posting.

The Move

Up until now, Cousins has relied on his size in the post.  However, that doesn’t mean he is lacking skill, and that is on display when he makes his move.

Cousins takes one quick dribble while starting to turn over his left shoulder.  He keeps the ball lower than I would like to see a big man hold it, but he makes up for it by keeping it near his right hip.  This makes it harder for the double (coming from Wake Forest #42) to dig down and knock the basketball away.

Cousins completes the hook with his right hand, and he uses his left hand to prevent anyone from trying to block him (it isn’t a foul if he just holds it there – which he does – rather than swinging the arm through, clearing space).  He hits the shot, all net.  Here it is in real time: