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The start of the 2018-19 season has brought mixed results for the Golden State Warriors, perhaps more mixed than they would like to admit through the early stretch of this journey.
After starting a blissful 10-1 in the opening three weeks, the Warriors have only mustered a 14-12 record through the next month-and-a-half, already sounding the sirens for a DeMarcus Cousins return. Pronto.
Golden State's frontcourt woes have been evident throughout the early get-go, but that is only one of the many reasons this Warriors team is dying to get its prized big man on the court.
The lack of a real challenge:
The Warriors have been through this before, lollygagging their way to the postseason with a record good enough to secure home court advantage for the first two rounds of the playoffs.
Golden State is good enough to do the same again, but playing in the tightest Western Conference race of the last 20 years is no joke, as one loss can dislocate any hopes of remaining among the top two teams in the West.
For the sake of comparison, the East has a nine-game difference between the conference-leading Milwaukee Bucks and the eighth place Detroit Pistons. A nine-game difference in the West means going from teams 1-through-14, as the penultimate New Orleans Pelicans are only 8.5 games behind the West-leading Denver Nuggets.
Battles between the fourth and eighth place are only separated by 1.5 games in the West, a very narrow margin of error for those hoping to cling onto a spot come April.
The Warriors can coast their way to the postseason on sheer talent, but they won't dominate unless they add another factor into their equation.
Revisionists' history suggests there is something mightily different between this 2018-19 Warriors team and the one that first incorporated Durant in 2016-17.
Despite losing a season-opener to the San Antonio Spurs by 29 points, the Warriors managed to calm the waters, going on to unleash a 12-game win streak only two weeks after their season debut.
They also suffered three straight losses for the first time in the Steve Kerr era before peaking at the right time and railing off 14 straight wins before the end of the regular season, winning 31 of their last 32 games when including the playoffs (s/o Klay Thompson toaster).
Golden State hasn't been short of adversity this season, but the team badly needs that added challenge — a plot twist to encourage a transformation.
Cousins will presumably join the team by February after Kerr scratched off the prior reported timeline of return late in the year, and his incorporation will likely come with its share of losses and barbs through the adjustment period — but it is exactly those sparks that can ignite a fire under their butts to make this championship run the real challenge they've long awaited.
A disjointed offense:
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The Warriors are clearly lacking the same organic flow that made them the back-to-back defending champions and that is no accident.
The slew of injuries plaguing them throughout the early part of this regular season played a major role, but the Draymond Green factor can't be overstated.
Green arrived at camp ailing and out of shape, something that wasn't felt until Stephen Curry's absence due to a groin injury, which seemingly derailed a strong start to the 2018-19 campaign.
The All-Star forward has become as close to an offensive non-factor as there is in the league, with opponents leaving him wide open in the perimeter and instead swarming the likes of Curry, Thompson and Kevin Durant, which has resulted in lower field goal percentage chances for all involved.
Bringing in Cousins would bring above all, another playmaker — but one capable of destroying those who dare play him loosely or fail to secure position early in transition.
Sure, the Warriors haven't needed Cousins to obliterate defenses since Durant arrived, but given the state they're in today, they just can't see the day Boogie suits up and gives them another capable playmaker to terrorize opponents with.
A new voice:
Much like Steve Kerr admitted prior to the All-Star break last season, the Warriors had grown tired of his voice. The team has also grown weary of Draymond Green's voice, as he serves as a leader on both sides of the court — playing a trusty quarterback role on offense and as the last line of defense in true free-safety nature.
It seems crazy to say the Warriors need more crazy after the early-season feud between Green and Durant — but it's not just the craving any crazy — but a new crazy.
Cousins has been known to be volatile, but also promptly effective when challenged on the basketball court. The Warriors now have not one, but two fiery players — one much different from the other.
While this new ticking time bomb is sure to detonate at some point throughout his incorporation to the team, it is exactly the type of challenge Golden State needs to keep itself entertained and ultimately engaged for the task at hand.
Complacency has been the team's biggest enemy so far, and throwing in Boogie's voice will surely change the dynamic of this offense.
The Warriors' last double-digit win streak was right before the end of 2017, winning 11 straight games before the run came to an end during a home loss to Denver and later going through a see-saw stretch the rest of the season.
Since then, Golden State has yet to look dominant in any way in the regular season, rather with the air of mortality among opponents that often circle upcoming matchups against this team, saving their best performances.
The Cousins dynamic will also pose a challenge for Kerr, who will have two very loud voices in the locker room and plenty of adjustments to make — between minutes, rotations, and plays to call for his new toy at the center position.
This could prove Kerr's greatest conquest or the very fall of his half-decade empire, as this reign of terror will only extend into a dynasty if Cousins' voice can rattle the Warriors' cage and remind them what exactly is at stake as they head into a new calendar year.
