Getty Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant and center DeMarcus Cousins
Overall, it’s fair to say DeMarcus Cousins’ debut with the Golden State Warriors was a successful one. Although he fouled out in 15 minutes, Cousins showcased his unique skill set and a bit of explosiveness in the process. The team rolled to a 112-94 win over the Los Angeles Clippers and the All-Star center wrapped up the night with 14 points on 5-of-11 shooting and 3-of-4 from beyond the arc.
After the game, Cousins was given the game ball which led to a bit of trolling and a light-hearted exchange from Warriors teammate Kevin Durant. As Chris Haynes of Yahoo! Sports revealed, the game ball was on the floor by Cousins’ locker, and the big man called for a team official to put it in safekeeping. Durant couldn’t bite his tongue when the opportunity to troll the center presented itself, per Haynes.
“This [expletive] scored 14 points and is talking about, ‘Put my ball up?’” Durant joked as he stood near Cousins while getting dressed. “He’s acting like he scored 50.”
Cousins had a fair response also, stating “I think my plus-minus was the highest in the game.” Durant couldn’t let Boogie get the win, though, citing that Draymond Green’s was higher, which led to the former New Orleans Pelicans big man laughing at the friendly banter.
DeMarcus Cousins’ Makes Presence Felt Early
While it took just a minute or so for Cousins to knock off a bit of the rust, he made sure to leave his mark on the game early on. The team’s new starting center’s first bucket of the season opened the scoring for Golden State, and it came in the form of an emphatic dunk off a pass from Durant.
A GRAND ENTRANCE FROM BOOGIE COUSINS 😤
Although Cousins picked up two fouls early and went to the sidelines, it was apparent he grew more comfortable as the game went on. The three shots he knocked down from beyond the arc were big and made an impact on Friday’s game, something head coach Steve Kerr admitted to Haynes and Yahoo! Sports.
“I didn’t anticipate him making three 3-pointers,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “I know he can shoot from out there. We all know that, but first-game jitters and fatigue, I wouldn’t have expected him to knock down the two big shots that really broke the whole game open.”
What’s Ahead for Cousins & Warriors
After the win over the Clippers, which marked the seventh straight and nine of their last 10, Golden State gets the weekend off before another nationally-televised game Monday. Friday marked the start of a five-game road trip and the next stop is a date with the Los Angeles Lakers which will be televised on TNT.
While Cousins played just 15 minutes after fouling out, it’s unknown what his workload will look like moving forward. It makes sense for the Warriors to hold him out of back-to-backs for a bit, but the team doesn’t have one until February 12-13. There’s an obvious reason to believe Cousins could be on the floor for the bulk of the team’s next 10 games, but will likely receive at least one rest day off somewhere in there.
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