The Golden State Warriors added DeMarcus Cousins in the offseason with the full understanding that the All-Star center wouldn’t be available for the entire 82-game journey. However, early signs indicate that Cousins may be able to return to action a bit earlier than previously thought and, on Monday evening, the Warriors announced an encouraging update to his status that includes the prospect of the big man returning to “controlled aspects” of the team’s practices.
DeMarcus continues to make good progress with his rehabilitation program. After spending the last few weeks doing various individual on-court activities and drills, he will, in the near future, be integrated into controlled aspects of team practice, although not scrimmages at this point. Additionally, he will continue with his off-court strength and conditioning.
As noted here, Cousins will not be scrimmaging at this point and, as a result, his return to game action shouldn’t be considered imminent. Still, any positive news is good news when it comes to a player of Cousins’ talent nearing a return and it will be interesting to unearth more information on the nature of his on-court work.
In Cousins’ absence, the Warriors have turned to a frontcourt assortment featuring Damian Jones, Kevon Looney, Jordan Bell and Jonas Jerebko. While Golden State can (and likely will) operate at a very high level until Cousins’ return, the team’s full ceiling may not come into view until he regains full health and that leads to plenty of intrigue in the future.
