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DeMarcus Cousins' first 11 games with the Golden State Warriors have been a mix of rousing excitement and managing expectations, as he has ridden a roller coaster of changes while adapting to play with his new team. The 6-foot-11 center noted he expects to improve on his conditioning and regain his rhythm after the All-Star break:
“I've still got a lot of room for improvement, I feel I can do a lot better than I was,” said Cousins, later pressed into the aspects of his improvement. “Conditioning. I'm still finding my rhythm, my timing. Stuff like that, general basketball stuff.”
DeMarcus Cousins on the improvement he expects to make after the All-Star break pic.twitter.com/s5vIUaT3q0
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) February 21, 2019
Cousins was impressive during his first nine games, but saw the grueling nature of the season catch up with him in his last two games before being rested due to “load management” protocol right before the break.
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The big man scored in double figures in six of his first nine games, but tailed off to shoot a combined 6-of-23 from the floor in games against the Miami Heat and Utah Jazz.
Yet Cousins has been active at both ends of the floor, getting steals, deflections, and blocking shots when needed — a great sign for a player who's returning to the game after a year off with a serious injury.
The 28-year-old still has little lift when going up for contested attempts at the rim and has seen the effects of fatigue in recent games, in which he has exceeded the 25-minute restriction while closing out games with the starting unit.
It's bound to be a process, but the first 11 games are still encouraging as the Warriors hope to fine-tune his skills for a deep playoff run.
