The impending return of DeMarcus Cousins now has a target date — Jan. 18 on the road against the L.A. Clippers.
While that brings plenty of upside after a reported February return was considered a possibility, it will also bring plenty of changes for a team that has already experienced some tinkering in search for a formula to make them dominant once again.
Plugging in an All-Star of Cousins' caliber, a walking 20-point, 10-rebound nightly threat, will bring a lot of benefits and a new dimension to a championship-level roster, but it will also come with its share of challenges, ones the Warriors will have to conquer through the last three months of the season if they hope to put their stamp on the West once and for all.
The Warriors have flirted with the top spot in the West ever since starting the season 11-2, but have gone a mediocre 16-12 after that brilliant start, sitting at 27-14 through the first half of 2018-19.
Here are the five changes fans can expect for this roster upon Cousins' debut.
Draymond Green's offensive output will take a hit again
Much like the Kevin Durant effect, it was Green, the team's least offensively effective All-Star who suffered the worst, going from sniffing 10 shots per game in his previous two seasons to less shot attempts ever since.
Adding a player like Cousins means every player will have to sacrifice a little bit more — yet Green is attempting the least amount of shots (seven per game) since his second year in the league.
Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant will have less shot attempts, but better looks when they're on the floor with Cousins.
Yet Green will gain something he hasn't had this season, a shot-blocking presence in the paint as the last line of defense and a lob target on offense, one which he hasn't had since JaVale McGee took his talents to La La Land.
Cousins isn't the most athletic player, but he is sure-handed and opportunistic, giving Green a new frontcourt partner that can finish plays on the fast break and allow him to play at his natural power forward position.
Klay Thompson's mid-range addiction will come to an end
Thompson is shooting the worst field goal percentage since his third year in the league and downright the worst mark from deep of his career (35.6 percent) — never having fallen below 40 percent through his previous seven seasons in the NBA.
Part of his 45.1 percent from the field is a new-found addiction for taking contested mid-range shots, which have neighbored 30 percent this season and are much to blame for his poor efficiency by his standards of marksmanship.
Cousins will take space on the block and in the perimeter, giving Thompson fewer opportunities to operate in one-on-one scenarios and more chances to do what he does best — catch and shoot.
Klay is slowly peeling off a poor start to the season shooting the ball, shooting 51.3 percent from three in his last five games; an improvement that should only continue by playing alongside a willing passer in Cousins.
Head coach Steve Kerr is likely to pair The Splash Brothers together in rotations while pairing Durant and Cousins together as the former's iso-heavy play style can be best paired with a big man that can finish at the rim as well as stretch the floor.
Stephen Curry's weird new rotation likely to morph again
Kerr noticeable tinkered with Curry's usual place in the rotation, now taking him out in the last minutes of the first quarter and starting him in the second quarter to play alongside the second unit and give them an offensive punch.
The strategy has had mixed results, but it will come to an end soon enough, as Cousins being incorporated into the rotation will change it all once again.
The Curry-Thompson partnership has worked very well, giving the Warriors a creative ball-handler paired with a deadeye shooter capable of finishing plays from any spot on the floor. Durant's ability to command double teams and attack the defense head on should fare well with Cousins as the two focal points of the offense after the rotations become clear.
Kerr would have to find a way to stamp a Curry-Durant pick-and-roll set to close out games, as it has proven his deadliest weapon during the two-plus years the two former MVPs have played together.
Feast or Famine
Cousins' insertion into the rotation will bring high spirits for a team that has had little to root for over the course of the first 41 games. It will also bring a new challenge, new distractions and a complete different level of tension and expectations.
How he chooses to handle matters with his teammates and how he goes about responding to the media when pressed will say a lot of how successful this $5.3-million experiment really is and how capable he is to use this as his redemption season to put himself back in the open market once the campaign concludes.
Cousins and the Warriors have different agendas, but they are united by one common goal — netting a championship at the end of the season.
This would be Boogie's first time in the playoffs, despite eight years of pro experience, as he was only able to watch the New Orleans Pelicans go through the first two rounds of the postseason in 2018 due to his injury.
The Warriors will welcome Cousins with open arms, but it will ultimately be up to him to adhere to this system and keep in mind that the sacrifices made are all part of a greater plan.
Cousins' return could come sooner or later than Jan. 18
One thing that is worthy to note is that the projected target date of Jan. 18 is merely that — a target date.
Steve Kerr said Cousins has gotten over the wall the training staff had been hoping he could leapfrog, and as long as he's comfortable, he could return two days prior for a potential revenge game against the New Orleans Pelicans or give him a few more days to get himself right.
“He’s made some big strides the last week or two conditioning-wise,” Kerr said, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic. “So if Rick (Celebrini) tells us that he’s ready to go, it could be that (L.A. Clippers) game, it could be the New Orleans game a couple days earlier. Maybe it’s a game after that, but that’s definitely the range.”
If Boogie does come back in mid-January, especially against the Clippers, he would be making his debut at the start of the most challenging stretch of the Warriors' remaining schedule. That road trip will be nationally-televised in its entirety and will have plenty of caveats to pick apart.
The Warriors will take on the Clippers on ESPN, the Los Angeles Lakers on TNT, Boston Celtics on ABC, Washington Wizards on TNT and finish with the Indiana Pacers on NBA TV — likely the worst stretch for him to be under the microscope.
Cousins will also be on a minutes restriction when first joining his new teammates after a season-ending Achilles injury and could miss some back-to-back affairs as the medical team monitors his progress after an 11-month absence.
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