Golden State Warriors: DeMarcus Cousins was injured during 2019 NBA Finals
By Tony Pesta
DeMarcus Cousins laid it all out on the line for the Golden State Warriors by playing through an injury in the 2019 NBA Finals.
DeMarcus Cousins‘ stint with the Golden State Warriors was strange, to say the least. The star big man shocked the world and “broke the league” by joining the back-to-back champions on a small one-year $5 million dollar contract. One thing is for certain, Cousins gave his all to the franchise in this short time.
Before he joined the Warriors, Cousins was the best center in the league. The four-time All-Star was averaging 25.2 points and 12.9 rebounds before tearing his Achilles in devastating fashion for the New Orleans Pelicans.
It took quite some time for Cousins to return to the court. When he finally recovered, it only took a few months to tear his quad early in the 2019 NBA Playoffs. This is an injury that apparently never fully healed before he hit the court again later in the Finals.
Talking to Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson on the All The Smoke Podcast, Cousins revealed that he was still suffering from his quad injury while competing against the Toronto Raptors.
“I wasn’t supposed to be on the floor,” Cousins said. “In the Finals, you play hurt. If you can go, you can go.”
Cousins performed poorly during his time on the court. He averaged just 8.3 points and 4.7 rebounds in 18 minutes of playing time. He was constantly in foul trouble and lumbered slowly around the floor on defense.
Injuries stole the show in the NBA Finals. Not only was Cousins dealing with a nagging injury but we obviously all remember Kevin Durant rupturing his Achilles and Klay Thompson tearing his ACL.
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It’s unfortunate that a bit of bad luck robbed the Warriors of a chance to win three straight titles. Hopefully, for Thompson, Durant and Cousins, they will be able to compete for more championships soon.