Getty Golden State Warriors center DeMarcus Cousins
The Golden State Warriors were dealt a brutal blow during the first round of the 2019 NBA Playoffs when DeMarcus Cousins suffered a quad injury. The play occurred when Cousins attempted to chase down a pass in Game 2 of the series against the Los Angeles Clippers. He went down awkwardly and immediately grabbed his leg before heading to the locker room while walking with a visible limp.
Less than 24 hours after the injury, The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported the news that Cousins’ MRI revealed a torn left quad.
Warriors All-Star DeMarcus Cousins has been diagnosed with a torn left quad, league sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium. Devastating for Cousins, who had MRI early this morning.
Prior to the severity of Cousins’ injury being revealed, there was some hope he could return during the playoffs, but that does not appear to be the case.
Steve Kerr Recently Addresses DeMarcus Cousins’ Injury
Just days before the Warriors began their second-round series against the Houston Rockets, prior to a game against the Clippers, Steve Kerr addressed the media on the topic. As The Athletic’s Anthony Slater revealed, there was still very little optimism that Cousins would return.
“He’s just rehabbing. He’s here today, he was in our film session, and he will continue to be rehabbing with Rick and will be around as we go … We’ll see what happens in a few weeks once we have a better sense of his healing and his ability to maybe get on the court, who knows. But at this point, conservatively, I would say it’s highly unlikely.” Kerr said.
Slater also revealed that Sunday’s Game 1 against the Rockets was the first time Cousins has been on the bench since suffering his quad injury.
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The injury is a brutal blow for both the team and Cousins, who had really hit his stride with the Warriors after returning from a torn Achilles which he suffered the year prior. To make matters even worse, Bleacher Report’s Ken Berger reported that one league executive believes the injuries could cost Cousins $150 million moving forward.
“It’s going to be an enormous loss for him. He might end up in a situation where these injuries cost him $150 million. It’ll have a profound impact,” the executive explained.
Evaluating DeMarcus Cousins’ Potential Timeline for Return
Barring some type of a drastic change in his status, it appears Cousins will miss the rest of the 2019 NBA Playoffs. Even if the Warriors are able to make a run to the NBA Finals, it’d still be a longshot for their starting center to be able to suit up.
Although The Athletic’s Marcus Thompson pointed out that Kerr previously said Cousins will not need surgery on his torn quad, the outlook remains bleak. The Warriors coach did say they are “holding out hope,” though, as the potential for him to heal fast isn’t impossible.
It is worth noting that these comments came before Kerr called it “highly unlikely” that Cousins would make a return during the postseason. Time will tell, but currently, the outlook isn’t great and it appears Golden State’s postseason run move forward without the big man.
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