LOS ANGELES – Less than a minute after his first game as a member of the LA Clippers, DeMarcus Cousins maneuvered around Enes Kanter, got an offensive conundrum for himself and scored an attack in front of the delighted owner of the LA Clippers. to Clippers, Steve Ballmer.
Debuting for the team after signing a 10-day contract on Monday, Cousins scored seven points, four rebounds and two assists in seven minutes during the Clippers’ 133-116 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday at the Staples Center. .
“It was great,” said Paul George, who hit six triples and finished with 36 points. “He’s an All-Star. He’s still one of the most skilled greats in the league. Maybe he’ll finish, he’ll be back. I thought you saw a little bit of all that in his night and he showed he still has a lot to give.”
Clippers are the last stop for Cousins, since serious injuries threatened his All-Star career. The cousins broke their Achilles in 2018 with the pelicans from New Orleans and had a long rehabilitation before returning. He then suffered a quadriceps fracture in the first round of the Golden State Warriors playoffs in 2019. He returned and played in the NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors and then joined the Los Angeles Lakers, only to break his ACL before 2019. – Season 20 has begun.
After missing out all last season, Cousins returned and played in 25 games with the Houston Rockets this season before being released. It was a long and tiring journey.
“We put in an incredible amount of work to get to this place,” Cousins said. “I feel great, my body feels great. I’m probably in the best shape I’ve been in my entire career. Right now, it’s about going out there and putting everything together and just trying to look still that I am healthy and I am here to play this game at a high level.
“I understand the situation I’m in. No matter what opportunity I’m offered, I just intend to take full advantage of it, controlling only what I can control.”
Cousins gives Clippers much needed depth in the middle, and Serge Ibaka (back) misses the 12th game in a row. The cousins set up screens, took down two offensive rebounds and made mistakes to go to the line four times in his first game on February 17th.
“The cousins were good,” said Clippers head coach Ty Lue. “[It’s] just hard because he doesn’t know so many tracks right now, so we’re offensively limited. But he is a problem [for opponents]. He’s a big load, he can post, he can shoot 3, he can pass basketball. … Just to shape him and adapt him to what we are trying to do offensively and defensively, but we already know that he is a great talent. “
Cousins also has some familiarity with this Clippers team. He was a former teammate with the recently acquired Rajon Rondo and played with George in the 2016 US Olympic team and with Patrick Patterson in Kentucky College.
Cousins said he doesn’t see many weaknesses in the Clippers, who have won two in a row with routes over the Lakers and Blazers.
“Obviously they have a two-headed snake in Kawhi [Leonard] and PG, “cousins said.” And, obviously, everyone’s job is to make it easier. I think this is probably one of the most complete teams in the league. I bring everything I can to help this team and lift it. I don’t really see that this team is missing much “.
George said he is looking forward to seeing his cousins regain their All-Star form with the Clippers.
“He can even play at a high level,” George said. “So I’m looking forward to him entering a pit, seeing the floor and just being a great teammate for us.”