Cousins a big unknown for Warriors
All-star is coming back from an Achilles injury, expected to play Friday
Moments after the Golden State Warriors finished obliterating the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday night, Draymond Green was asked about a teammate who did not even play — a teammate, in fact, who has yet to log a single minute this season but is nearing his much-anticipated debut.
“Hopefully,” Green said, “it’s devastating for everybody else.”
Let that soak in for a second. The Warriors, who have won three of the past four NBA championships, are already good at basketball. All they did Tuesday was set an NBA record by scoring 51 points in the first quarter — the first quarter! — against a team that came into the game with the best record in the Western Conference.
But now, after signing DeMarcus Cousins over the summer and spending months incorporating him into their dynastic fold as he recovered from Achilles tendon surgery, the Warriors expect him to be in their starting lineup when they visit the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday. It is a grand experiment that will play out over the second half of the season.
“More than anything, we’re just excited for DeMarcus,” coach Steve Kerr said late Tuesday night, adding: “It’s going to take him some time to get his rhythm.”
Cousins, a 28-year-old centre and a four-time all-star, has not played since Jan. 26, 2018, when he tore his left Achilles in a game for the New Orleans Pelicans. At the time, Cousins was having a career season, with averages of 25.2 points, 12.9 rebounds and 5.4 assists a game. He was also due for free agency and an enormous payday.
But his type of injury has ended careers, particularly among big men, and teams balked at offering him a long-term deal. He wound up with the Warriors, who signed him to a oneyear contract worth $5.3 million (U.S.) — a modest price for a reclamation project with upside and little obvious risk.
“It’s a relief,” Cousins told reporters last week. “It’s been a long year for me, a lot of ups and downs, but the finish line is ahead.”
There is no way of knowing if Cousins, who is listed at sixfoot-11 and 270 pounds, will ever be the top-tier player he once was. But the Warriors neither need nor expect him to be a focal point of their offence, and if he merely commands attention from defenders, especially in the post, he should free up additional space on the perimeter for the team’s cavalcade of shooters.
Cousins has never been a role player, though he acknowledged his new (and unfamiliar) place in the Warriors’ ecosystem.
“Well,” he said, “I won’t be taking as many shots as I have in the past.”
The Warriors appear to be playing their best basketball of the season, as evidenced by their demolition of the Nuggets, a rout so thorough that Malone said it would be impossible for his team to just “flush” the loss.
But now, as the Warriors get ready to introduce Cousins to their explosive mix, there are questions: Can he play with pace? Can he acclimate himself to a supporting role? Can he defend quicker players if opponents go small against him? And most important, can he stay healthy and find his old form before the playoffs?
The Warriors are eager to find out.