The Golden State Warriors know what to expect from Steph Curry. They know what they’ll get out Klay Thompson on a nightly basis. Kevin Durant’s production is like clockwork. Heck, even if head coach Steve Kerr is fed up with Draymond Green, he knows the forward will put together his usual Swiss Army knife line.
But what will DeMarcus Cousins deliver?
They found out that answer on Wednesday night. In a two-point win over their rival Houston Rockets and without Durant, Boogie poured in a season-high 27 points to go along with eight boards, seven dimes and a pair of steals.
What’s deeply important about that performance is Kerr made some adjustments to the Warriors’ style to fit what Cousins can do. Check out this fourth quarter bucket over Clint Capela:
A clearout! On the block! For Boogie! What year is this!? In this era of fast-paced, pass-first-second-and-third Warriors basketball, that’s a rarity.
But that’s what helped the Dubs defeat one of the teams who beat them three times this season. Check out their pacing and efficiency stats:
It’s not a coincidence:
It’s hard to remember something Kerr pointed out: After recovering from an Achilles tear, Cousins has played just 20 games on a team that isn’t used to having an offense star like him in the middle. Everyone sounded the alarms when the team signed former Warriors ring winner Andrew Bogut for the stretch run — did it mean Cousins’ defense wasn’t good enough? — but if the team can switch styles at will during the postseason to fit their opponents, it’s positively petrifying.
This might be the win that helps the Dubs start putting the drama behind them. And it’ll be because it was the night they figured out just how to make Cousins fit in.
