DeMarcus Cousins’s achilles has been the dark cloud hanging over everybody except the Warriors since the four-time All-Star announced his decision to join the incumbent champions, and it was reported today that he hopes to return as soon as the New Year.
According to Warriors reporter Logan Murdock, Cousins has been ramping up his workload in preparation for the return:
Sources: Warriors’ injured center DeMarcus Cousins is ramping up his workload on his Achilles and is targeting a return to the lineup after Christmas. t.co/S2bcXPYyut via @mercnews
He wanted to return even sooner–according to Murdock, the former Pelicans player wanted to return during the team’s upcoming five-game road trip. This is the same trip during which Steph Curry will reportedly return to the floor.
Cousins Scrimmaged with the Team as Recently as Saturday
GettyDeMarcus Cousins speaks with Kevin Durant during a 2018 Warriors game.
Ultimately, though, Golden State’s training staff decided it would be best to give Cousins more time to get in shape. Which makes sense since it’s been close to a year since he last played an official game. But it’s promising (for Warriors fans, at least) that Cousins has scrimmaged with the team as recently as Saturday, just before the team played in a narrow win over the Sacramento Kings.
“According to a player in the scrimmage,” Murdock reported, “Cousins looked ‘solid.’ The scrimmages have been a part of Cousins’ new six-day a week regimen with the team in anticipation of his pending return.”
With Curry back in the lineup the Warriors will be back to full strength, at least by last year’s standards. Come the new year, though, they’ll have a whole new weapon in their arsenal. It may take Cousins a few games to get back up to his 25.2 PPG, 12.9 RPG average, but they’ll be hard to stop once he does.
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DeMarcus Cousins Scrimmaged on Saturday