The Golden State Warriors have an excellent defensive rating and a positive plus-minus in the two games center DeMarcus Cousins has been on the floor in their NBA Finals series against the Toronto Raptors.

Even more amazing is that he did it all in a combined total of 36 minutes, on the road, and coming off a gruesome quad injury that has kept him sidelined since early in the playoffs.

Not too shabby for a player that was written off after a seemingly disastrous eight-minute debut in Game 1 and a player whose defense is just as heavily-criticized as his impact in winning team basketball.

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However, it's worth noting that the Raptors are a perfect matchup for the versatile big man. Toronto fields a traditional center rotation of Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka who, despite their ability to hit the outside shot, are still inside operators more comfortable in the paint than attacking closeouts from the perimeter.

Another factor favorable to Cousins is the lack of an elite point guard capable of exploiting his weakness in defending screen and rolls. Kyle Lowry, the Raptors starting point, has been abysmal in the series thus far besides drawing offensive fouls.

With the Warriors able to play Cousins comfortably, it allows him to play a more grounded type of defense palatable to his make and skills – and that's simply patrolling the paint for shot alterations and contests.

It would be interesting to see how Raptors head coach Nick Nurse adjusts for Game 3, but as it stands, Boogie is proving the naysayers wrong.