No return date yet for Cousins, but Warriors encouraged
OAKLAND — Just as it has been for nearly the past three months, the Golden State Warriors have kept their answer the same on when DeMarcus Cousins will fully heal from a left Achilles tendon and return to the court.
“I don’t know exactly when he’s going to play, but he practiced fully today,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “He has to work on his conditioning.”
Unlike when training camp first started, though, the Warriors have become encouraged with Cousins’ progress.
Even as Cousins sheds off that rust after healing his left Achilles tendon since injuring it on Jan. 26, 2017 with the New Orleans Pelicans, the Warriors have still noticed something different than when training camp first started. No, Cousins may not look like the same player that has cemented four All-Star appearances and averaged a career 21.5 points while shooting 46 percent along with 11 rebounds with the Sacramento Kings (2010-2017) and New Orleans Pelicans (2017-18). They notice their future starting center showing more intensity and confidence during the four scrimmages he has participated with the Warriors in the past week.
“He tells me to go at him and try to simulate a real game,” Warriors guard Quinn Cook said. “You can definitely see how much better he feels moving laterally and running up and down with the conditioning. We go pretty hard. I’m trying to attack him.”
So is Warriors second-year forward Jordan Bell, who bragged that he “cooked” Cousins during a scrimmage on Sunday in Phoenix by sinking a series of pull-up jumpers. Cousins did not speak to reporters on Wednesday, but Bell relayed that Cousins “thought we were playing so he was going to get me back today.” Instead, Kerr said the team had “no live-action” in an otherwise “good practice” on Wednesday that included game footage and “conceptual stuff” for when the Warriors (21-16) host the Houston Rockets (2115) on Thursday at Oracle Arena.
Warriors fans may not want to view this as a discouraging sign that Cousins could not stop Bell, who has fielded an inconsistent role in his second season. Instead, that snapshot reveals the Warriors’ increased willingness to expose Cousins in a competitive setting.
“Jordan had a great day against him in Phoenix. But I think DeMarcus put on a show as well,” Cook said. “DeMarcus wants us to go at him. Jordan was going at him. If I get a switch on him, he wants me to go at him. Offensively, he’s going to be tough to stop.”
That marks a stark contrast to when Cousins first received clearance to participate in noncontact drills in late October. As Cook remembered, “at first, it was easy to get around him.” And now, Cook said that Cousins “knows 90 percent of my moves.” Last week, Cousins played in a physical game of one-on-one against Warriors star Kevin Durant. That ended with Cousins throwing down a dunk over Durant and knocking him to the floor.
Still, it appears plenty of work remains. After all, Kerr outlined that Cousins will likely face more adjustments with adapting to the Warriors’ system and pace than tailor making their philosophies just for him.
“We don’t have a ton of new plays for him. We have a few plays we have for him, but he’s got to come in and fit with us more than vice versa,” Kerr said. “I don’t think that will be a problem because he’s very skilled and can shoot threes and is a good passer. We’ll try to put him in position to accentuate his skills. Then he has to adapt to the players around him. It will take time, but I don’t feel like we have to change our offense to fit him in there.”
Before then, though, the Warriors want to see more progress with Cousins’ conditioning. Then, perhaps Dr. Rick Celebrini, the Warriors director of sports medicine and performance, will have an answer on Cousins’ return date.