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DeMarcus Cousins remains hopeful that he’ll be able to return from injury these playoffs. However, Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr says it’s unlikely the All-Star big man will play in the Western Conference Finals.
During a media scrum on Monday, Kerr said that Cousins is continuing his rehab work. Nonetheless, there hasn’t been much change as he has not been able to practice or train a lot.
Kerr says not much has changed surrounding Cousins. He’s getting some rehab work in, but still hasn’t been able to do too much. Hasn’t closed door on him returning at some point, but sounds unlikely for this series.
— Nick Friedell (@NickFriedell) May 13, 2019
Before his injury, Cousins only got to play in two games. He averaged 5.5 points and 5.5 rebounds in his first playoff appearance.
The limited sample size isn’t a good indicator of Cousin’s contribution. In the regular season, he averaged 16.3 points and 8.2 rebounds and gave the Warriors quality minutes as a stretch five who could also bump and bruise on the post.
The continued absence of Cousin’s means that the team will probably continue playing small ball. With Kevin Durant and Cousins out, the Warriors started Andre Iguodala and Andrew Bogut to replace them. However, Bogut only played 11 ineffective minutes. Kevon Looney, Jonas Jerebko and Shaun Livingston all stepped in as the Dubs played most of the game without a typical center.
Thankfully for the Warriors, they have shown that they can withstand the loss of Cousins. And if the 28-year-old center can return to the Warriors’ lineup in the NBA Finals, it will just be a case of the rich getting even richer.