Exploring what the expectation should be from DeMarcus Cousins as he’s slated to make his season debut for the Golden State Warriors in a couple weeks
The rich are about to get richer. According to reports, DeMarcus Cousins will make his Golden State Warriors debut soon. Specifically, the target date that is being thrown around in the newswire is Jan. 18, when the Warriors make trip to Los Angeles.
Question is, what should be the expectation for Boogie as he approaches his return to the NBA floor for the first time since he suffered a torn Achilles last January? While that’s not an easy question to answer, it should be noted that his return will come will at least some expectation.
Through the halfway portion of the season, the Warriors are not dominating the NBA as many expected them to. They’re still one of the best teams in the league – they’re 27-14, ranked second in the Western Conference – but are still missing that sense of swagger that they’ve showcased over the last couple of seasons.
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And the rebuttal to their up and down play for much of the season has been some variation of, “they’ll flip the switch when it matters most, in the playoffs” to “don’t worry, DeMarcus Cousins returns soon and all will be fixed.”
While to a certain extent both of those statements might be true, they’re easier said than done. Especially the second one, regarding Cousins. When healthy, and in shape, there’s no question that Boogie is one of the best centers in the NBA. However, I don’t think anyone knows how Boogie is going to look when he makes his season debut in late January.
Even if he’s healthy, it’s going to take time – and minutes – for him to round into NBA playing shape. That’s not exactly something the Warriors will have leading up to the playoffs. They don’t have the luxury of getting Cousins the minutes he needs to get back into the shape of things – especially if the Warriors still haven’t secured the top spot in the West.
Cousins doesn’t need to save the Warriors, but if Golden State fails to win the NBA Finals this season I can’t help but think of a scenario when Boogie won’t be blamed. From everything we’ve witnessed over the first couple months of this season, I don’t think anyone would argue will the statement that the end is probably nearly for this team’s dynasty.
And it’s not fair to expect DeMarcus Cousins to come in and save the day for the Warriors. That would be unfair to both Boogie and Golden State. Still, that doesn’t mean that Cousins can’t come in and play a vital role in this team hitting its stride this season.
The Golden State Warriors should be excited about the return of DeMarcus Cousins, but he shouldn’t be expected to change the course of this season.