When the Golden State Warriors shocked the world last summer and signed DeMarcus Cousins in free agency, pundits questioned whether or not Boogie could fit in with the Warriors and their uptempo, pass-heavy offense.
Golden State pushes the pace at every turn. The ball never sticks on one side and players are always moving around. Cousins, meanwhile, often holds the ball for a long period of time when he's in the post, so naturally, people were skeptical if his style of play would mesh with the Warriors'.
Being able to adapt your game is the sign of a great player, and that's exactly what Cousins has done in Golden State. The All-Star big man has bought into Steve Kerr's motion offense, and it helps that Kerr often calls post up plays for Cousins to keep him happy and engaged.
The results have been great so far, as Golden State is 9-1 with Cousins in the lineup, and the players on the team say the transition has been very smooth.
“Obviously we've got a long way to go,” Warriors forward Draymond Green told Andrew Sharp of Sports Illustrated. “And we know we have to continue to get better. [But] as far as integrating DeMarcus, it's been pretty seamless.”
Says Cousins, “That’s something I watched while I was on the sidelines. Like, how can I make the guys’ job easier? It’s a team full of high IQs. You put a team of high IQs together, it’s easy to get on the same page and play the right way. Not saying that it’s perfect, but it’s working out a lot smoother and easier than I guess a lot of people expected.”
Cousins is averaging 14.1 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 10 games this season while shooting 45.5 percent from the field, 32.0 percent from beyond the arc and 74.5 percent from the free-throw line.
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