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Sporting News
The Golden State Warriors sent shockwaves throughout the entire NBA on July 2nd, 2018, when they announced the signing of DeMarcus Cousins on a one-year, $5 million deal.
At the time, it was a somewhat risky move for the Warriors, as Cousins was halfway through his rehabilitation for the torn Achilles injury he suffered in January 2018.
However, since making his season debut on January 18th of this year, the Warriors organisation will be feeling it was a risk that paid off. Cousins introduced himself as a Warrior with an emphatic slam, which gave fans and teammates a glimpse of what is to come.
Having started his Warriors career on a minute restriction, which has since been removed, Cousins will be looking to replicate his form that has earnt him four All-Star appearances.
Boogie has featured in 19 games so far for the Dubs and is averaging 15.2 points per game to go along with 7.8 rebounds in 25.5 minutes. Although it is clear that he is still adjusting to the Warriors style and learning the playbook, Cousins has had an impact on both ends of the floor.
Averaging 3.3 assists a game, Boogie has been effective using high pick and rolls with Stephen Curry to then dish it out to a normally open Klay Thompson or Kevin Durant.
Not only does Cousins bring some firepower in the low post, he is also a threat from the three-point line. Cousins ability to space the floor and create good open looks for his teammates has been a key part of his success in the team since starting his season in January.
Boogie is a great passer and has great floor vision, skills that fit greatly in Steve Kerr’s playbook which feature a lot of entry passes to players in the post. With this, Cousins now adds both a post scoring and playmaking option.
As the regular season is nearing the end, and the playoffs starting soon, both Boogie and the Warriors will be hoping that the 270-pound center can keep progressing with the team as they attempt to three peat.
Having been ranked in the top 10 in rebounding in each of the last four seasons, the 4x All Star will be a pivotal piece of the Warriors playoff run.
However, at times this season Demarcus has looked to struggle on the defensive end, especially on iso plays against smaller guards.
Against the Boston Celtics on the 6th March, Boogie was targeted for isolation plays and couldn’t cope with the matchups. At times he was on the perimeter guarding Jayson Tatum, Terry Rozier and Marcus Smart. All of which had an easy time of either cutting past him for an easy lay up or just simply dribbling round him for the same result.
Guarding any of those guys is a tough ask for any player, let alone a 6-foot,11-inch, 270 pound center who has just come back from a torn Achilles injury.
If the rest of his Warriors teammates can help prevent matchups like this happening in the postseason, then Boogie should be able to use his skillset in the appropriate way to help his team.
Another concerning thing that comes with having DeMarcus Cousins on your roster is his temperament. He is known hot head in the league who already has seven technical fouls to his name in only 19 season appearances.
But then again, seeing this is nothing new for Warriors fans who have been watching Draymond Green the past few seasons.
Cousins will need to be careful and control his emotions in order to give the Dubs the best chance they can against whoever they match up against in the playoff bracket.
If he can stay healthy, as well as build on the numbers that he is already putting up on both ends of the floor, Boogie will be an extremely important part to Warriors for the rest of the season, adding a new dimension to their game that they haven’t had before.