The Impact of DeMarcus Cousins on the Warriors

by
Chris Porter
January 19, 2019

Anyone who follows the NBA knows that the Warriors added the final ‘infinity stone’ to their gauntlet of All-Star players when DeMarcus Cousins made his season debut after rupturing his Achilles tendon last season. In a game that Cousins was certainly nervous for, the four-time All-Star put up 14 points and 6 rebounds in just 15 minutes, including a massive dunk for his first basket since the injury.

https://twitter.com/FlurrySports/status/1086473758842515457

Cousins’ Impact

While the dunk will circulate social media, Cousins quietly made three of his four three-point attempts. This is the facet of the game that should scare opposing teams. Everyone knows Cousins is willing to bang around down low, but if he is able to shoot the three ball at an effective rate, the Warriors will be unstoppable. This comes with its own new set of challenges though, because the Warriors have traditionally played without even an average center in the past. Since 2014-15, the Warriors have utilized the services of centers, such as Andrew Bogut (the best of them all), Festus Ezeli, Marreese Speights, Anderson Varejao, Zaza Pachulia, JaVale McGee, and Jordan Bell. This has allowed for Curry, Thompson, Durant, and Green to all benefit on the offensive end of the floor because the center position never produced much offense and was only in for rebounding and defensive purposes.

With Cousins in the mix, the Warriors will need to adapt to sharing the ball even more than they already do. For Curry, Thompson and Durant, this should not be a problem, but I am worried that Draymond Green will see his numbers decline to the point where he becomes disgruntled and causes issues, similar to the ones he caused earlier in the season. DeMarcus Cousins will aid the Warriors in the short-term in winning the title yet again, but time will tell if his presence slowly unravels what the Warriors have created.