The wait is over! Golden State Warriors big man, DeMarcus Cousins will reportedly return to NBA action next week.
A four-time NBA All Star, Cousins is coming off of a serious Achilles’ injury dating back to last season.
Per The San Francisco Chronicle:
Cousins was eyeing his return from a torn left Achilles tendon for Jan. 18 against the Clippers at Staples Center. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr later conceded that Cousins could be back even earlier.
“I think it’ll happen around that (Jan. 18) time,” Kerr said. “It’s not as simple as, ‘That’s the game.’ It’s somewhere in that neighborhood. Now that we’re getting closer, and like I told you guys yesterday, he’s made some big strides the last week or two conditioning-wise, so if that continues and (director of sports medicine and performance) Rick (Celebrini) tells us that he’s ready to go, then it could be that game.”
Some NBA pundits wonder how he’ll gel with a stacked Warriors team that includes Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Kevin Durant.
GettyGolden State Warriors stars Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant
Cousins is ready. “It’s a team full of high IQs,” DeMarcus Cousins told me this summer.
“I believe everyone on our team has a very high IQ when it comes to the game of basketball. All of us know how to play the game of basketball.”
Cousins has never played in the playoffs during his eight seasons in the NBA.
Boogie is excited for his team this coming season. “We got guys with the same characteristics that– it’s like play-doh,” he told me.
“You can mold them into whatever you want them to be.”
Appearing on the Scoop B Radio Podcast, NBA insider, Chris Sheridan thinks that Cousins is the piece that the Warriors need.
“Cousins is a big x-factor on that team,” he told me.
While the NBA’s Western Conference is competitive with teams like the Denver Nuggets and the Los Angeles Clippers improving this season, the Warriors are still the champs and Sheridan likes their chances.
“I think if the Warriors are healthy they still remain favorites in the west,” he tells Scoop B Radio.
“The Warriors have to remain focused on winning a championship this year and then a focus later on next year after the season. These are veterans players and they know what it takes to win in the playoffs.”
The Los Angeles Lakers made a splash this summer when they signed top free agent, LeBron James.
GettyLos Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James
The Golden State Warriors shocked the basketball world this summer when they signed Cousins. Also this summer, the Lakers signed LeBron James.
“They got the best player in the world,” Cousins told me of James.
The Lakers are struggling currently with James sidelined with a hamstring injury. But he’ll back.
Here’s the million dollar question: Can the Laker beat the Warriors?
“They’ve got a chance,” Cousins told me.
“We’ll see what happens when the ball goes up.”
To prepare for this season, Cousins says that he channeled a single by Kevin Gates called “Change Lanes.”
He says Gates’ track motivated the heck out of him.
“I’m in a different mindset than I ever was before,” he said.
“I believe [I can relate to it]. He went through a situation, he went through a hard time. He came out, he realized ‘let’s change the lanes a little. I have a new mindset,’ so it’s kind of the same thing [I’m going through]. My knowledge is growing, my mind is growing. That’s kind of where I’m at right now.”
Retired NBA players like Rasheed Wallace and Kevin Garnett were pretty tancedent in their versaitility on the court. They could shoot, dribble, rebound and run the offense if need be. Cousins is a stat stuffer himself.
Will Boogie channel Wallace or Garnett’s skillset on an already stacked Warriors squad this season?
Kevin Garnett announced his retirement from the NBA Friday (Getty)
“I don’t think I could go wrong with either one,” Cousins told me.
“They’re both champions, they’re proven, they’re elite.”
Lastly, many say Boogie is mean or misunderstood. The Warriors offseason acquisition addressed it.
“What I’ve learned is, once you get to a certain stature, people look at you like you’re so fascinating,” he told me.
“The expectations go up, and what I mean by that is, when they approach you, when they meet you, they expect a certain reaction. They expect– it doesn’t matter what you do.”
Added Cousins: “Sometimes they don’t get what they expect, and it rubs them the wrong way.”
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DeMarcus Cousins Talks LeBron James, Golden State Warriors Return