After taking down the Rockets, the Golden State Warriors may get another win by bringing back DeMarcus Cousins in the Western Conference Finals.
The Golden State Warriors watched as DeMarcus Cousins went down just minutes in their second postseason game. Many thought he wouldn’t return for the entirety of the postseason. Well, according to Marc Stein, the elite center could return next round.
Another reward for the victorious Warriors: League sources say that DeMarcus Cousins -- if he maintains his recent progress from a torn quad -- is on course to make a return to the Warriors' active roster during the Western Conference finals
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) May 11, 2019
This is obviously huge for Golden State.
Cousins went down with a quad injury just minutes in the second game of the Warriors first-round matchup with the Los Angeles Clippers. This was just a game after Cousins made his postseason debut.
Outside of Stein’s report, much of Cousins progress and timeframe is unknown, but his return would be a welcome surprise for coach Kerr.
Given the fact that the Warriors could play MVP-candidate and arguably the league’s best center in Nikola Jokic next round, being able to match his physicality with Cousins would be ideal. Even if they take on the Blazers, having Cousins to defend Enes Kanter would equally as important.
On the offensive end, Cousins could take some of the minutes off Stephen Curry. Curry, who averaged over 40 minutes per game in their second-round matchup with Houston, needs to see those reduced to keep him fresh for what could be the team’s fifth-straight NBA Finals.
That said, Curry, Green and Thompson have been forced to play such high minutes because, for starters, the injury to Kevin Durant. Prior to even that, Curry tallied high minutes due to the Dubs lack of depth and playmaking.
Cousins changes all that.
He brings a dominant big man and allows the Dubs to completely change up their style of play. More of a gritty, hard-nosed big man, Cousins pounds the paint with the best of them instead of relying on his three-point shooting like many of the Dubs other players.
The Warriors don’t absolutely need Cousins back to down either the Nuggets or Blazers, but his return would make things much easier on the two-time defending champs.