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Steve Kerr: DeMarcus Cousins will not need surgery, likely to miss entirety of playoffs

Ryan Young
·Staff writer

While they aren’t closing the door completely, the Golden State Warriors are moving on from DeMarcus Cousins after he suffered what was likely a season-ending injury on Monday night.

Cousins injured his left leg early in the first quarter of the Warriors 135-131 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 2 of their opening round playoff series and limped off the floor into the locker room. He underwent an MRI on Tuesday, which revealed a torn a torn quadricep, sidelining him indefinitely.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr confirmed on Wednesday that his center will not need surgery, but he isn’t expecting Cousins to be back in the lineup this postseason.

"DeMarcus, most likely, will not be back during the playoffs,” Kerr said. “You're probably looking at a couple months' recovery, so it's unlikely. But [our medical staff] told me that there are occasions where that injury heals faster. So we're leaving the door open, obviously."

Cousins signed a one-year deal with the Warriors last season, though he missed nearly a full year while recovering from an Achilles injury he suffered in February 2018 with the New Orleans Pelicans.

The 6-foot-10 center averaged 16.3 points and 8.2 rebounds in 30 games for Golden State this season.

"More than anything, I'm just crushed for DeMarcus," Kerr said. "He's been waiting his whole career for this, and then the second game he goes down after putting all that work in to recover from the Achilles. And he's had a great season for us. He's really come along the last month or so. I just feel bad for him."

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 15: DeMarcus Cousins #0 of the Golden State Warriors falls to the crowd after injuring himself against the LA Clippers during Game Two of the first round of the 2019 NBA Western Conference Playoffs at ORACLE Arena on April 15, 2019 in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
DeMarcus Cousins will not need surgery for his torn quad that he suffered in Game 2 of their playoff series against the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday. (Getty Images)

With Cousins out, Kerr said he will turn to Andrew Bogut down low going forward. The 34-year-old veteran — who played four seasons with the Warriors from 2012-2016 — has played in just 11 games for Golden State this season, starting in only five of them. He’s averaged 3.5 points and five rebounds in more than 12 minutes per contest.

Kerr said the biggest reason that the Warriors signed Bogut again was “just in case” something like this happened. Bogut knew that coming in when they signed him to a one-year deal in March, too, just after he finished the season with the Sydney Kings in Australia’s National Basketball League, where he was named the league’s MVP.

Now that he’s been thrown into the starting lineup during the most critical point of the season, Bogut said he’s confident that he knows the Warriors’ system well enough to make a positive impact right away.

"I knew I was coming in as an insurance policy to an extent," Bogut said, via ESPN. "A guy that could fit in straight away that knows the system offensively and defensively. Knows the guys ... I definitely didn't anticipate starting in the playoffs. But unfortunately you get a freak injury to Demarcus and those are the circumstances we're in."

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