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NBA: Five Bold Predictions for the 2016-17 NBA Season

By Zach Blochlinger

May 26, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) dribbles the ball around Golden State Warriors forward Andre Iguodala (9) during the third quarter in game five of the Western conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
May 26, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) dribbles the ball around Golden State Warriors forward Andre Iguodala (9) during the third quarter in game five of the Western conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /
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Apr 9, 2016; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins (15) reacts to a call during the second quarter of the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Sleep Train Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 9, 2016; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins (15) reacts to a call during the second quarter of the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Sleep Train Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports /

DeMarcus Cousins Wins First Scoring Title

DeMarcus Cousins is the best center in today’s NBA on the offensive end of the floor by a mile. He finished fourth in the NBA in scoring with 26.9 points per game. The next best center, Brook Lopez, averaged just 20.6 points (according to ESPN).

To put this into perspective, the only three players that scored more than Cousins last season were Curry, Harden, and Durant. At age 25, he will continue to improve his game and extend his range which we saw for the first time this last season where his three pointers attempted per game jumped from just 0.1 to 3.2. He shot 33.3 percent from behind the arc last season.

Rajon Rondo is gone, as he inked a deal with the Chicago Bulls which means what the Kings were looking for out of the Cousins-Rondo tandem obviously wasn’t there. Rondo leaves after just one season with Sacramento.

This year’s Kings team is led by Cousins and forward Rudy Gay, but it seems the direction of this franchise may be changing with talented young centers Skal Labissiere, Willie Cauley-Stein, and Georgios Papagiannis all on the roster with at least three years left on each player’s contract.

This may suggest that the Kings are finally ready to be rid of DeMarcus Cousins after seeing him struggle to get along with multiple coaches, teammates, and apparently the front office as well. He tweeted this during the late parts of June’s NBA Draft:

He still could stay with the Kings, as he could be moved to the power forward spot if his shot and defense continues to improve this summer while he is in Rio for the Olympics.

Whether he is traded or not, I see Cousins taking the next step in his NBA career and improving his three-point shot even more. This will lead to a spike in his scoring that I expect to be around 30 point per game.

must read: NBA Power Rankings: Post Offseason Edition

DeMarcus Cousins is a special talent and his game will do nothing but improve for the foreseeable future. Expect big things from him sooner rather than later, including a scoring title in 2017.

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