Golden State Warriors starting five against the Clippers in LA on Jan. 21, 2019. Photo via Adam Pantozzi, NBAE/Getty Images
January 24, 2019 – DeMarcus Cousins has returned to the NBA after a long year of rehab and practice, and his performance on Friday night did not disappoint.
After Cousins’ contract expired with the Pelicans, he agreed to sign a one year five-million dollar deal with the Golden State Warriors, and the internet went wild:
Many were worried of how Cousins would act with the Warriors. They have built this fun energetic team, and Cousins is notoriously known as a hot head on the court (alongside Draymond Green). “I’ve enjoyed being around him,” coach Steve Kerr said. “He’s really smart. He’s funny. He’s got a smile on his face, a great sense of humor. He’s very serious about the game, and he wants to be great.” (Sep. 29, 2018 – nbcsports.com; Poole, Monte)
So now here we are about seven months later, and DeMarcus Cousins made his debut appearance in LA against a strangely good Clippers team. Cousins played 15 minutes and scored 14 points, three of them were from the three-point-line. Golden State has finally added a large center who is versatile on the court to their killer lineup; the NBA is pretty much shook for the rest of the season.
Why adding DeMarcus was a good look:
- He sets up screens
- This topic is Cousins number one threat and Warrior advantage on the court. Having Cousins in the line up adds a big man in the post, an asset the Warriors lacked in the past. He can easily slide up to the wing and create a play with either, Thompson, Steph Curry or Kevin Durant (just listing these names is a terror alone). Cousins set up a number of good screens against the Clippers to pull the defense towards him and away from key shooters, such as Thompson.
- He fights for offensive rebounds
- Kevon Looney has been an amazing center throughout the season, but because Cousins is just beefier than Looney, he isn’t scared to use his elbows and grab the ball from the rim. This allows Golden State to reset and most likely hit a three-point shot.
- He hustles back on offense/ defense to make plays
- Cousins gets to the post quicker than most on offense, creating a pass down low to go straight to the basket. Doing so pulls more defensive players towards him, opening up a shot for the three stars.
- He can shoot deep three’s
- Cousins made 104 out of 294 attempted threes last season [2017-2018] and shot a respectable 35.4% from that range. In comparison, during the 2016-17 season, he made 131 out of 363 attempted threes, good for 36.5%. (Sep. 12, 2018 – goldenstateofmind.com; Viray, Joe)
- He is a beast in the post
- Boogie is ultimately known for the way he performs in the post; his aggressive attitude makes him close to impossible to guard. When you hand Boogie the ball in the paint you know he’s headed to the basket – his 6’11” size helps.
- Cousins is so dynamic, if not the most dynamic center in the league right now. He is kind of a bully with the ball in the paint, but hey how can you not be when you’re his size.
Looks like all these examples are basically a new form of assisting the Warriors in getting open and hitting multiple unbelievable three-point-shots, (which Cousins is also capable of doing himself).
Sorry to the rest of the league…
thesportsnote 