Kamenetzky: The Cali Report – Dwight’s return, Clips vs. Griz, Lee’s D, Boogie’s issues

GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS (36-29)

While hardly a slave to advanced metrics, I’ve also never been one to pooh-pooh the data discussed by the Sloan Conference types. Still, I gotta give David Lee props for his response to a recent piece by Kirk Goldsberry, which pretty much eviscerated the All-Star forward’s defense. No stranger to being labeled a sieve, Lee stood his ground. Per Ethan Sherwood Strauss, WarriorsWorld:

“At this point I could care less. I’ve worked hard to improve my defense. I think I’m a much better defensive player today than I was a year ago and definitely to start my career. There’s a lot of different numbers to support a lot of different things. You can’t have it both ways. You can’t say me putting up 20 and 10 doesn’t matter because ‘numbers don’t matter,’ but at the same time, ‘charts at MIT matter.’ You can’t have it both ways.”

Whether you agree or not with Lee (and truth be told, I don’t entirely), that’s a pretty solid answer.

— AK

SACRAMENTO KINGS (22-43)

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but there’s been an incident with DeMarcus Cousins. This time, it involves an elbow thrown to the head of Bucks forward Mike Dunleavy Jr. during an eventual 115-113 loss. If the NBA does hand down a suspension, it will be Cousins’ fourth of the season and the third from the league.

Hearing his teammates after the game, it appears patience has worn thin with Boogie. Perhaps the most telling comment came from forward Jason Thompson.  Per Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee:

“You can give a person as much advice as you can. From us, to coaches, to Hall of Famers, to whatever. But at the end of the day you’re in this league because you’re a grown man, you’ve going to do what you want to do.”

Loosely translated, “I’m done talking to this idiot. If DeMarcus wants to change, it’s on him.”

This is where things get tricky for Sacto. Cousins has the potential to become among the league’s best players. He’s also, for the time being, a headcase. Yes, he’s just 22, and most people were immature then, too. I certainly was. But I also know people who were immature in their 20s and are now immature in their 40s. Some folks change. Some don’t. And some manage to control their weaknesses.

Rasheed Wallace transformed himself from a hothead who destroyed Portland’s culture to a hothead who was an invaluable part of championship-caliber teams in Detroit and Boston. As it’s impossible to prove a negative, it’s hard to know whether this was the result of Wallace maturing (somewhat) or a change of scenery with better, wiser teammates and coaches.

And therein lies the rub. Even if the Kings front office believes Cousins is capable of change, the chaos swirling around their franchise may prevent the necessary environment. Is it a matter of hiring a stronger presence than Keith Smart? The Maloofs’ eventual departure? Firing Geoff Petrie? Moving to Seattle? Or is Cousins a big man version of Allen Iverson, gifted but unable to get out of his own way?

Lotta questions, with few answers immediately on the horizon.

— AK

Brian and Andy Kamenetzky are sportswriters and radio hosts who have worked in sports media for over a decade. They have covered the Lakers and the NBA for eight seasons, for both the LATimes.com and ESPN.com, as well as ESPN The Magazine. Follow them on Twitter at @KamBrothers.