Golden State Warriors: How would DeMarcus Cousins fare in a series against the Rockets?

Despite the team getting hit with an injury to Kevin Durant, DeMarcus Cousins stepped up when the Golden State Warriors needed it. How will he fare against the Houston Rockets?

The Golden State Warriors avoided the regular season sweep by defeating the Houston Rockets in the Toyota Center 106-104. With Kevin Durant sidelined by an ankle injury, the defending champs needed someone else to step up and DeMarcus Cousins did, playing, arguably, his best game in a Warriors uniform.

In 31 minutes, Cousins scored a season-high 27 points on 11-16 shooting and 1-2 from beyond-the-arc. He added eight rebounds and seven assists as well. He overpowered Houston’s big man Clint Capela down low when he needed to and set up teammates perfectly as a post playmaker. He was a +7 in the win.

This was Cousins’ second time playing Houston as a member of the Warriors. He was not nearly as effective the first time playing against the James Harden-less Rockets who, behind Chris Paul‘s big night, shocked a full-strength Golden State team at Oracle Arena. He was a team-low -17 in 26 minutes, despite grabbing 14 rebounds.

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Cousins is working his way back into shape after his Achilles injury, finding a rhythm on Wednesday night. He provided a balanced attack, opting to use his strength and size for certain looks and using a quick first step and finesse for others.

With two games against the most dangerous team the Western Conference has to offer under his belt, Cousins is getting a better feel for what Houston might do in a playoff series. He knows where he stands against Capela and his passing ability can open up a Warriors offense that has a tendency to stagnate against the Rockets.

Despite his incredible success in Houston, a performance like that would be difficult to replicate especially moving forward in the playoffs. The Rockets play a simple and predictable style of basketball that, with their talent, makes them lethal.

Houston plays at the third-slowest pace in the entire NBA. They have the league’s most isolation-heavy offense, averaging nearly 23 isos per game according to NBA.com’s stats. By comparison, the Oklahoma City Thunder–the only other team in the double-digits–are second at just 10.6 isos per game.

Harden and Paul look to attack mismatches after the defense switches screens, attempting to isolate weaker perimeter defenders, usually big men They did this throughout the entire 2018 Western Conference Finals. They looked to beat Kevon Looney, finding out the hard way that he’s one of the team’s most disciplined defenders with an understanding of how to use his length to contest shots and avoid fouls.

The Rockets then turned their attention to Stephen Curry who also held his own in those matchups in crucial moments. Ultimately, they found the weak link in Jordan Bell. Bell, unlike Looney, tends to leave his feet and overplay situations, which is like a juicy steak for hungry wolves like Paul and Harden.

Unsurprisingly, the Rockets have employed this strategy in their regular season matchups this season, including Wednesday night. Early in the first quarter, Houston’s backcourt sought out the Cousins mismatch in isolation and pick-and-rolls and it worked. Then, suddenly, they went away from it.

The Rockets, unsuccessfully, attacked Looney and Curry again. They took a few turns on Alfonzo McKinnie–who has not quite yet figured out the movement and positioning required to defend at the NBA level–until he got into foul trouble.

While Cousins proved to be too much for Capela and Houston’s other defenders, it’s hard to imagine that the Rockets would stop going after him in a playoff series. His lateral movement at this point is not suited for the quickness and shiftiness of Houston’s All-Star backcourt.

If they meet in the postseason, expect Cousins to have a harder time getting comfortable on the floor as Harden and Paul look to run him off the floor. He might not get the chance to take on Capela if he becomes a defensive liability after relentless isolation.

Assuming everyone is healthy, Cousins won’t have as many playmaking opportunities, especially if the Warriors play Houston the way they did through the first three meetings. Cousins had to step up in Durant’s absence, but with the two-time Finals MVP back in the lineup, the dynamic changes. The Rockets have done a great job of forcing Golden State’s offense to become iso-heavy and slow with limited motion. Should Steve Kerr allow his team to fall into Mike D’Antoni‘s trap, then Cousins’ offensive value also diminishes.

The Warriors probably haven’t shown their full hand to the Rockets just as the Rockets didn’t give everything away either. The fact that they stopped attacking Cousins is proof of that and the Warriors are going to need to find a way to counter their mismatch hunting when it matters most.

Don’t expect Cousins to average 27/8/7 in a series against Houston, but if everyone buys in (again) to a free-flowing offense, he can do damage on that end. The most important aspect, though, for Cousins and Golden State will be on the defensive side of the ball and how they will look to prevent him from being stranded on an island with some of the game’s elite guards.