ROARacle gettin' ready to Boogie!
Report: DeMarcus Cousins set to make his Warrior debut on January 18th against the Los Angeles Clippers.
Is it just me or are the Warriors starting 5 one of the scariest things you have ever seen? C’mon, we can’t deny that the Warriors are shaping up into a dynasty. For 6 straight seasons, the Warriors have had a winning season, including 5 with at least 50+ wins. On top of that, the Warriors have won 3 of their last 4 straight NBA Finals appearances. This season, the Warriors look to be the first team to complete a three-peat since the 2000-2002 Los Angeles Lakers team. Now, with or without Cousins in their lineup, the Warriors are on track to have 56 wins this season (I’m sure they will be at least a 60 win team this season).
via NBA
Just two games after the Warriors went on a 51-point rampage in the opening quarter against the Nuggets, they will get one of the best big men in the league. If only Cousins made his debut tonight against his former Pelican squad…
What to expect in Cousins debut…
So, Cousins has not played a full season in about two years. Through 48 games for the Pelicans last season, “Boogie” racked up an average of 25.2 points/game and career highs in assists (5.4/game), rebounds (12.9/game), steals (1.6/game), and minutes played (36.2/game). Although Boogie joining the Warriors sounds amazing in every aspect, we are missing one thing here…gameplay. Yes, the Warriors signed a 4x NBA scoring champion, league MVP, and 7x all-star forward in Kevin Durant. That has worked out (for the most part) just fine. Durant has elevated the Warriors to a level where teams just can’t take them into a 7 game stretch when it counts the most.
Now the Warriors agreed to sign 4x All-Star Boogie Cousins, to play alongside:
2x MVP, 5x All-Star Steph Curry
MVP, 9x All-Star Kevin Durant
4x All-Star Klay Thompson
3x All-Star Draymond Green
Not to mention they are all 3-time NBA Champions (except for Durant with 2 rings). Back to the main concern here, the Warriors gameplay. The Warriors are going to give Cousins no more than 20 minutes of playing time in his season debut. The main reason for this is simply for them to see how well Cousins is moving on the floor as they slowly incorporate him into the game plan. The #1 thing to watch for on Friday is the Warriors on both sides of the floor with Cousins in the lineup. The Warriors offense is on fire, having scored over 128 points in 100 possessions through their last 8 games. What’s going to be concerning here is that Cousins could disrupt this gameplay simply because he is not as mobile of a player as people think he is. It will be interesting to see how he fits into the Warriors offensive arsenal.
Creds: (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
Now, where I believe Cousins will stand out on Friday night is the defensive side of the ball. The Warriors rank 16th in the league on the defensive side of the ball. Again it comes down to how well Cousins can move. My best guess is that after the all-star break, we will begin to see a very well-balanced Warrior team. I’d expect them to face a minor setback in the firepower on the offensive side of the ball and improve on the defensive side of the ball. Regardless, the point is that the Big-man is back and healthy in the Warriors starting lineup. Draymond Green couldn’t have said it better himself when talking about Boogie’s upcoming season debut on Friday, ‘all hell is about to break loose’.
(Randy Vazquez/Bay Area NewsGroup)
