Cousins’ comeback plan with Lakers derailed by ACL tear
Above all, DeMarcus Cousins hoped that the coming season would bring good health — something he hasn’t enjoyed for two years.
A knee injury during an offseason workout has derailed that hope before the Los Angeles Lakers could even get into training camp.
Excel Sports Management confirmed Thursday afternoon that Cousins, a six-time All- Star center, suffered a torn left ACL, adding to a laundry list that the oncedominant big man has struggled through for the past two seasons. The timeline for his surgery and recovery is still being discussed.
According to an ESPN report, Cousins’ injury occurred Monday in Las Vegas when he “bumped knees” with another player and had to leave the court.
It’s a jarring blow to the Lakers, who had seen Cousins in excellent shape during offseason workouts, and viewed him as a potential “Xfactor” in raising the team’s ceiling as a title contender.
“It’s super unfortunate because just how much he loves basketball,” Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma said. “Throughout all these injuries he’s kind of fought back to get in as soon as possible.”
The 29-year- old big man has a checkered injury history of late: He tore his Achilles tendon in January 2018 with the New Orleans Pelicans, taking a year to recover before taking the court again. In his campaign last year with the Warriors, he tore his quad in the first-round playoff series against the Clippers.
When healthy, Cousins has been one of the most dominant big men in the NBA: He has averaged 21.2 points and 10.9 rebounds for his career. But he has played in only 78 regular-season games in the past two seasons.
“Everything I’ve gone through in the past three years, it just helped me realize how fast this thing can be taken away from you,” he told Los Angeles media last month after he signed with the Lakers. “I love it that much more. I’m grateful for every opportunity. I learned the hard way.”
His injury troubles played a part in the lengthy free agent doldrums for Cousins, who also changed representation early in July. The Lakers signed him to a one-year, $3.5 million deal.
Steve Kerr, who is in Los Angeles with USA Basketball, said he was “devastated” to see a player he coached last year suffer another setback. While the Warriors faltered in the Finals against the Toronto Raptors with other injury issues, he credited Cousins for helping win two of the games in the series. He had hoped that he could emerge from his injuries after “a couple years of hell.”
“I was really hoping that this would be a year for him upcoming with the Lakers where he could get healthy, get his rhythm, get his conditioning and really start his comeback,” Kerr said.
In the meantime, there are rotation questions for the Lakers who lose a credible scoring threat from the center position. The team resigned center JaVale McGee this offseason to bolster their front court depth, and he could see a boost to his minutes. – Kyle Goon
Golf
THOMAS, KOKRAK TIED FOR LEAD » On the range, Justin Thomas had no idea where the ball was going. Some five hours later, he had a share of the course record at Medinah (Illinois).
Ultimately, all that mattered in the BMW Championship was taking a good step toward an important goal. Thomas already is set for the Tour Championship next week and the chase for FedEx Cup and its $15 million prize. That’s not what interests him.
“I don’t give a crap about the money,” he said. “It’s about winning tournaments.”
He made his first birdie after hitting a tree on the fourth hole, leaving him a 5-iron he hit to 2 feet. His last birdie was a putt from about 60 feet on the fringe from the back of the 16th green. He did enough right in between for a 7-under 65 and a share of the lead with Jason Kokrak.
The others to post 65 at Medinah were Tiger Woods, Mike Weir and Skip Kendall at the PGA Championship in 1999 and 2006.
Woods won both those majors. Winning the second FedEx Cup playoff event might be a lot tougher.
One week after he withdrew with a mild oblique strain at Liberty National, Woods could only manage a 71 that felt feeble compared with everyone else. All but two players in the 69-man field were at par or better on a Medinah course that was soft from bursts of rain earlier in the week.
Woods is projected to need a top 10 this week to advance to East Lake, where he is defending champion. After one round, he was tied for 50th.
“It’s just not sharp,” Woods said. “I’m trying to make changes in my swing. It’s just not quite there yet.”
The good news for Woods? He says he didn’t feel any tightness in his oblique.
Tennis
EARLY EXIT FOR FEDERER » For Roger Federer, it was one big blur. The seven-time champion was ousted from one of his favorite tournaments in barely over an hour, falling in straight sets to a 21-yearold qualifier he’d never faced.
Andre Rublev — with only one career win over a top-five player to his credit — took advantages of Federer’s numerous mistakes for a 6-3, 6- 4 victory that further depleted the top of the men’s bracket in the Western & Southern Open.
It was over shockingly fast — Federer’s quickest defeat on the tour since 2003.
Federer had 16 unforced errors against the 70th-ranked Rublev, who raised both fists and wiped a teary eye in celebration after Federer’s forehand sailed long to end it.
Federer, who lost a classic fiveset match for the Wimbledon title to Novak Djokovic, thinks he’s in good shape heading into the U.S. Open despite the upset in Cincinnati.
“I played 45 matches this year, so I think I should be fine,” he said, smiling.