J-Speaks: The Return of "Boogie" Cousins

January 26, 2018 was the last time we saw one of the most talented big men in the league. On that night versus the Houston Rockets on national television, this talented around player tore of the then New Orleans Pelicans tore his left Achilles and saw his opportunity to cash in on the free agent market go right down the tubes. The one team that gave him a chance was the back-to-back defending champion Golden State Warriors on a one-year, $1.5 million deal. He made his long-awaited return to the court at the start of this past weekend in the “City of Angles” also on national television

In the Warriors (32-14) 112-94 win at the Los Angeles Clippers (24-21) on Friday night on ESPN, All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins in his debut had 14 points, six rebounds and three assists, going 5 for 11 from the field, including 3 for 4 from three-point range in his first game in nearly a calendar year.

“I felt like a kid on Christmas,” Cousins said after the victory about being back on the court again. “This was probably one of the best days of my life being back on the floor playing the game that I love.”

Cousins might have played a little more if he had not fouled out as he was whistled for his sixth personal foul at the 8:51 mark of the fourth quarter. As he went to the bench, Cousins smiled and high-fived his way back to the sideline as fellow perennial All-Star teammates and former Kia MVP’s Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant cracked up. 

“Hopefully that’s the last time we give him a standing ovation when he fouls out,” Durant who had 24 points in Warriors sixth consecutive win on the road and seventh win in a row overall. 

Jokes aside, the return of Cousins to the floor was a special site to see, especially with everything that transpired after suffering an injury that more often than not has ended the careers of many professional athletes. 

When Cousins suffered the injury in that previously mentioned Jan. 26, 2018 tilt versus the Rockets, a 115-113 Hornets win, he could put no weight on his left Achilles and had to be carried to the locker room. 

When free agency came around, as mentioned not one of the other 28 NBA teams came a calling and putting up huge money to sign him, except for the Warriors. 

In an interview with ESPN’s Rachel Nichols, host of “NBA: The Jump,” before his return to the hardwood this past Friday evening Cousins said about making his return to the court that he was “a little nervous.” 

“At the end of this month it will basically be a calendar year. So, it’s been a long time coming to say the least.” 

Cousins equated being on the shelf this long to being a young kid and having your favorite toy taken away for a certain amount of time and when you get it back you fall in love with it that much more. 

When Cousins signed with the Warriors, there were many in the NBA circle from fans to the other 29 teams that felt their chances of beating them became even more slim, especially being part of a starting quintet (starting five) that consists of him, the aforementioned Curry and Durant, and fellow All-Stars Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. 

When asked by Nichols how he will be a different player from his time with the Pelicans and prior to that with the Sacramento Kings, Cousins said that he will not be “same player. I’ve gotten better.” 

“A lot of things have changed in my game. You start to tune up other areas of your game. Jump shooting. Skill work. I think everything has just increased and gotten better.” 

One moment that was out on the Warriors Twitter page that showed that Cousins was seriously on the comeback trail is when he did a power move in the paint during a practice and dunked on Durant. 

During his comeback, Cousins has talked with other players that have had the serious injury he has like Hall of Famer and current Hawks color analyst for FOX Sports Southeast Dominique Wilkins and future Hall of Famer for the Los Angeles Lakers Kobe Bryant. 

Cousins told Nichols that the best advice he got about coming back from this was Wilkins, who said to him to attack his rehabilitation with an unwavering relentlessness. 

“Once you’re realize that you are healed, like don’t think about it. Just go forward,” Cousins said. 

Cousins also said that Wilkins spoke to him is that they have no clue about your heart, the drive and determination. 

Those that do know Cousins say that they know that he is very stubborn and that he does not like to be proven wrong.

He added that of the player that had this injury and never came back the same or never played again, Cousins said he never even let that enter into his thought process. 

One thing that has entered and said that will show is his maturity on the court, especially after his ejection on Oct. 26, 2018 in the Warriors 128-100 win at the Knicks (10-34) after getting into an argument with referee Scott Foster on the sideline, while in street clothes. 

Cousins did apologize for his actions and said he and head coach Steve Kerr had a good talk about that situation and he understood that his actions in the past with the officials and thinking about himself instead of the team would not fly with them as it did with the Kings, and at times with the Pelicans. 

As Kerr put it after the team’s 120-114 win at the Brooklyn Nets (24-23) two nights later, “That kind of stuff is not going to help us win a championship, it’s not going to help his reputation and I think he understands that.”  

That said, Cousins no-hold-back side of his personality has fit well with a squad that has guys like Green, whose fiery personality has served as the heart-and-soul of the Warriors championship run of three titles in the last four seasons. Durant who has gotten very fiery in his time with the Warriors. 

Cousins said he has fit in well with the Warriors because they have an emotional side because it shows that you care and are not nonchalant about what is going on around them. 

“I want guys that care. I want guys that show that and that’s what this team does,” Cousins said. 

In the first six to seven seasons with the Kings, Cousins had one of the most tumultuous six to seven seasons to start a career in recent memory. In his time with the Pelicans, he was by all accounts a great teammate.

At the start of this season, there was a feeling that the Warriors were favorites to win their third straight title and fourth in five seasons. That Cousins needed them and the Warriors needed him. Prior to this seven-game winning streak though, the Warriors have been up and down in terms of their concentration level and that has resulted in a four-game losing streak earlier this season from Nov. 15-21, 2018, the longest losing streak under Coach Kerr. They have lost more games at home this season then in past seasons and that they Western Conference has gotten better. 

What also cannot be forgotten is it was at the Clippers, a 121-116 overtime loss on Nov. 12, 2018 that Green and Durant had that disagreement about the execution in the closing seconds of regulation that caused a little rift in the team for a short period of time that many people saw as a fraction in their run to another title. 

Cousins said to Nichols that he does not pay any attention to storylines and that everyone is going to have their opinion and even went far as to say that the Warriors are the “most hated team in sports.” 

As coach Kerr put it before the game to the media about what Cousins return means, “We’re either going to be at the end of the night unbeatable or in big trouble.” 

While that might be a stretch, the Warriors just have been dominant and that this season has tested the fact that can they win a third straight title because that has rarely occurred in NBA history as it has only been accomplished by the Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, and the Los Angeles Lakers in NBA history. On top of that, the Warriors are trying to make it back to The Finals for the fifth straight season, which is a grind in of itself. 

During the Warriors run these past four seasons coming into this one, they never really had a player the caliber of Cousins who can score down low and can draw double teams from the low-post. 

For Cousins, he has never really played on a team where there are four other mouths to feed on the offensive end and two of those mouths are a previously mentioned former two-time Kia MVP in Curry and the 2014 Kia MVP in Durant along with Thompson and Green. 

On top of that Cousins, who has yet to play one postseason game has never really played on a team where their offensive philosophy is about being in attack mode in the open court and consistent ball movement and player movement in the half court. 

As ESPN.com’s Nick Friedell said on last Thursday’s edition of “NBA: The Jump” this will be the a “real life sports science project.” 

One part of that experiment is working so far in the fact that Cousins has fit in with the rest of the Warriors locker room in terms of his interaction with the whole team. 

Now comes the experiment of putting it all together on the hardwood and players and coaches have told have taken the we shall see approach. 

There is belief that the Warriors will still win the championship when it is all said and done. However, it remains to be seen whether Cousins can fit in with a team that likes to push the pace. 

As Friedell said “If he’s not rolling early on for a guy that wants to get paid big-big money and wants that extension after the season from somewhere that what I think the Warriors have a little bit of fear of. If he doesn’t find his niche early is he going to rock the boat a little big internally?” 

In a weird way according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst Cousins has helped the Warriors because as Coach Kerr was preparing for Cousins to return to the lineup, he changed his game rotation having Durant and Curry on the court more together, especially with the second unit. That has resulted in an offensive explosion of scoring 119 points or more in the six straight victories. That included back-to-back games of 142 points in a 147-140 win versus the Pelicans (21-25) last Wednesday on ESPN and 142 points in a 142-111 win at the Denver Nuggets (31-14) the night prior, which vaulted them back into first place in the rugged Western Conference. 

Going forward these next 36 games, the Warriors and Cousins will build the foundation of a squad that will hopefully be clicking once the postseason arrives this April. The reality is though as Windhorst pointed out if Cousins can help them win a couple of playoff games or be an ex-factor in a playoff series when they go against a team like the Oklahoma City Thunder (27-18) Thunder who has a very productive big man like starting center Steven Adams, he will have done his job. 

“They do not need him to come in and average 20 (points) and 10 (rebounds),” Windhorst said on last Friday evening’s edition of “Sportscenter.”

As Green said to NBC Sports Bay Area’s Kerith Burke after their win versus Pelicans about Cousins’ return, “All hell about to break lose. So, it’s going to be fun.”

Along with trying to help the Warriors win another Larry O’Brien trophy, Cousins is trying to rebuild his value and show other teams out there that he can average 20 and 10 again. 

For Cousins he said about being back on the hardwood to Nichols, “I’m back and I’m not looking back. I’m moving forward. I’m leaving it on the floor. I’m plan on coming back in that top spot.”

Friday night was the return of DeMarcus Cousins to the floor after close to a year from a devastating left Achilles tear. This was also the first game of a grand experiment to see if a starting unit of five All-Stars can become what many believe could be the best one of the best starting quintets in NBA history. 

They already made some history on Friday night as they became the first team to have five All-Stars from the previous season in the starting lineup since the NBA champion Boston Celtics started of four Hall of Famers in John Havlicek, Dave Cowens, Jo Jo White, Charlie Scott, and Paul Silas in Game 6 of the 1976 NBA Finals on June 6 of that year. The C’s won that game 87-80 to capture their 13^th of their 17 titles in franchise history. 

The success of this experiment both for the Warriors and for Cousins himself though will not be determined until the spring when the Warriors start their drive for their third straight title and fourth in the last five seasons. 

“I don’t know exactly how this is going to work a few months from now. Will ‘Boogie” be satisfied if he’s got a limited role and he’s not really able to rebuild his value?” Windhorst asked about the continued journey of Cousins’ return to the hardwood. 

“Maybe it will all go swimmingly. Maybe he’ll rebound and look like the same player he was before the injury but while tonight is a celebration of his recovery, but what we’re really going to find out whether this works or not is in the months ahead when we see how they settle in.” 

Information, statistics, and quotations are courtesy of 1/17/19 3 p.m. edition of “NBA: The Jump” on ESPN with Rachel Nichols, Nick Friedell, and Tracy McGrady; 1/18/19 6 p.m. edition of ESPN’s “Sportscenter” with Sage Steele, Kevin Negandhi, reports from Brian Windhorst and interview with DeMarcus Cousins from “NBA: The Jump” host Rachel Nichols; The Sporting News’ “2006-07 Official NBA Guide,” Page 11 and Page 633;  www.nba.com/games20190118/GSWLAC#/boxscore/recap; www.espn.com/nba/standings; https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Boston_Celtics_accomplishments_and_records; and https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Silas.