Chapter 380: Han Plays LeBron Again.
The All-Star draft was scheduled to take place in a week, with Han Sen and LeBron James joining TNT's iconic trio for a live broadcast.
Following this announcement, that particular episode of TNT immediately became the most anticipated show of the season.
But amidst the excitement, the league witnessed an incident that, while not earth-shattering for the NBA as a whole, had devastating consequences for the Warriors.
In a late-January matchup against the Rockets, DeMarcus Cousins delivered a stellar performance, recording a triple-double with 15 points, 13 rebounds, and 11 assists—his third of the season and the ninth of his career. His chemistry with the Warriors seemed to be hitting its stride.
However, just one day after the game, Cousins was diagnosed with a torn left Achilles tendon, ending his season prematurely.
During his 48 appearances for the Warriors, Cousins had averaged 35.2 minutes, 24.2 points, 11.6 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.9 blocks per game—a stellar contribution.
From an emotional perspective, suffering such a devastating injury in a contract year was a cruel blow for Cousins, as it would drastically affect his market value in free agency. But from a rational standpoint, the injury wasn't entirely unexpected.
Although Cousins moved more fluidly than many had anticipated—avoiding the mismatch issues that plagued Shaquille O'Neal during his stint with the Suns—his weight remained a concern. Like Yao Ming before him, Cousins' frame was well-suited for half-court sets, but the physical toll of up-tempo play put enormous stress on his ankles and knees, making injuries almost inevitable.
For the Warriors, the injury brought both bad and good news.
The bad news was obvious: Cousins was out for the season. The good news? The injury occurred before the trade deadline. With the deadline pushed up to February 9th this year, the Warriors still had around ten days to negotiate and bolster their roster.
Cousins' injury also had implications for the All-Star Game. As a Western Conference starter, his spot in the lineup needed to be filled by another player from the reserves, and an additional replacement had to be selected for the roster.