DeMarcus Cousins is expected to miss the remainder of the playoffs with a left quad injury. The worst news regarding DeMarcus Cousins' injury has been reportedly confirmed by Yahoo Sports' Chris Haynes. Cousins will reportedly miss the remainder of the postseason with a significant left quadriceps injury. Haynes does report that the Warriors have faint optimism that the 28-year-old could return for the NBA Finals should Golden State get that far. After the Warriors' shock Game 2 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, Steve Kerr confirmed that Cousins would be sidelined for "a while" with what he described as "a pretty significant quad injury." "There's a pretty significant quad injury." Steve Kerr shares the latest on DeMarcus Cousins.#NBAPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/JFzMc5VcNL - NBA TV (@NBATV) April 16, 2019 Cousins played just three minutes and 51 seconds in Game 2, with the injury occuring after he jumped a passing lane to tip the ball loose into the other end of the court. When he was chasing down the loose ball, he hit the deck, grabbing his left quad. Here's video of the DeMarcus Cousins injury via @NBCSWarriors. Grabs at that left leg. pic.twitter.com/gVT2cXPbng - Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) April 16, 2019 Cousins left the game, limping off the court with a frustrated look on his face - it was a non-contact injury to the same leg of his torn achillies that caused him to miss the second half of last season and the first half of this season. 4 TAKEAWAYS: Clippers stun the Golden State Warriors with historic 31-point comeback in Game 2 win The star centre had two points, two rebounds and one assist in the contest. In his NBA Playoff debut over the weekend, Cousins had nine points, nine rebounds, four assists and a steal, but fouled out in just 21 minutes of playing time. MORE: Lou Williams earns Player of the Day honours in thrilling comeback His injury will slide reserve centre Kevon Looney up in the rotation - Looney had a solid six points, five rebounds, two steals and one block in 16 minutes in Game 1 and followed it up in Game 2, recording a career-high 19 points on 6-of-6 shooting, adding five rebounds in 20 minutes of action. It should also create more playing time for backup centre Andrew Bogut, who played 17 minutes today after only seeing the floor for two minutes in Game 1. Bogut has plenty of playoff experience under his belt as a part of four Warriors' playoff runs and was a member of the 2015 NBA Championship team.<doc-sep>Well, the results of DeMarcus Cousins' MRI are in, and they're not good. As first reported by Shams Charania of The Athletic, then confirmed by the Warriors, it's a torn left quad. Cousins is likely done for the rest of the postseason. As you can see, if there is any halfway positive news to cling to, it's that the injury isn't expected to require surgery, and according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, there is faint optimism that Cousins could return by the NBA Finals, should the Warriors make it that far. The Finals begin May 30th, almost exactly six weeks from Tuesday. "[It's] not impossible," Dr. Rodney Benner, an orthopaedic surgeon with The Shelbourne Knee Clinic in Indianapolis, told CBS Sports with regard to Cousins' potential availability later this postseason. "But those [quad tears] can be painful and tough to kick, similar to a hamstring. They can feel OK and then flare up again with maximum effort during return to competition." There are, of course, two prisms through which this news can be viewed: What does it mean for Cousins, and what does it mean for the Warriors? For Cousins, it's devastating. Sure, it doesn't appear that he'll need surgery, so it could be worse. But he's still, at the very least, in for a second straight stretch of tough, prolonged rehab, and as such, he once again faces an uncertain future as a 2019 free agent in what will likely be, yet again, a depressed market for his services. "This is worse for Cousins than for the Warriors," a league general manager told CBS Sports Tuesday morning. "I would never give [Cousins] a max [deal], but that is based on the person more than the talent." Indeed, that's a big part of what this season with Golden State was supposed to be about for Cousins: One, prove he was healthy, and two, prove he could drop the perceived attitude and be a contributing member of a championship team. These next two months were going to be his real showcase. His first shot at the postseason stage. Remember, for all his statistical success, Cousins had never played in the playoffs. Now, for all intents and purposes, he still hasn't. He finished with nine points, nine rebounds and a team-worst minus-17 during his 21 minutes of Golden Stats's Game 1 win over the Clippers. He went down early in the first quarter of Game 2. "It's tough, for sure," Stephen Curry said after Monday's loss. "You feel for him, considering what he's been through this last year. This is a big stage, the playoffs. He's been looking forward to this. ... Just man to man, in terms of him, what he's been through, it's tough for sure. There's no sugarcoating it at all. You hate seeing that opportunity again on this big stage taken away from him like that." As you might recall, Cousins was probably going to be in line for something close to a max contract last summer before he tore his Achilles in February of 2018. It happened just as New Orleans was starting to look dangerous with Cousins and Anthony Davis as a potential long-term, twin-tower future. Oh how things change in a blink. The Pelicans, or any other team for that matter, didn't offer anything close to the $170 million extension for which Cousins was in line, and instead he had to settle for a one-year, $5.7 million deal with Golden State. Again, the hope was that he would play well enough, and look healthy enough, with the Warriors to recoup at least a decent chunk of that money this summer. Now, teams will once again have to go on limited information as it pertains to both Cousins' health and his production, which will likely result in another round of conservative offers. Cousins did sign a max extension earlier in his career with the Kings for right about $62 million, and he's made over $78 million in his career. So he's not going to be in the soup line any time soon. But as of right now, he has, very conservatively, missed out on somewhere north of $100 million. "I believe he'll most likely be in the same boat [this summer] as last year," a league exec told CBS Sports on Tuesday. "Someone will give him part or all of their mid-level exception." That mid-level exception will be in the neighborhood of the $5.7 million he signed with Golden State for this summer. In fact, this injury might have actually increased the chances that Cousins remains with the Warriors next season. When he was playing pretty well and looking like some team was going to offer him a pretty good amount of money, the Warriors weren't going to be able to afford him. Perhaps now that has changed. All of which begs the question: Should the Warriors want Cousins back? Nothing against him. He hasn't been any sort of distraction or locker room problem. He was clearly willing to adjust his game to fit, as best he could, within the Warriors' system, and all told, he was doing a pretty decent job, having averaged 16.2 points and 8.2 rebounds in his 30 games this season. Perhaps whether Kevin Durant stays or goes would determine Golden State's interest level in retaining Cousins, but that's all down the road. The question right now is: Are the Warriors better or worse off without Cousins for the remainder of these playoffs? "Personally, I think they will be better off," a league exec told CBS Sports. "Less tension on Steve [Kerr] and the team [to fit Cousins in]. He was minus-17 in Game 1 [vs. the Clippers]. What happens next round when you're dealing with Harden and Paul?" It's a fair question. Cousins has been exploited defensively in spots this season, and a team like the Rockets would definitely have been licking their chops to get Cousins switched out onto the perimeter to guard Harden and Paul one-on-one. That said, Golden State could have seemingly used Cousins' ability to post smaller players on the offensive end with all the switching Houston does, and besides that, the Warriors' defense hasn't exactly been stellar so far in these playoffs independent of Cousins. He didn't play a single minute in the second half of Game 2, and Golden State gave up a ridiculous 85 points to the Clippers in those 24 minutes en route to blowing a 31-point lead. A lot of that credit goes to the Clippers. Lou Williams is flat-out one of the best shot-makers in all of basketball. And Montrezl Harrell is a beast. Those two dudes combined for 61 points in Game 2 after combining for 51 in Game 1. They are a problem in the pick and roll, one of the most productive duos in the league, in fact, despite both of them coming off the bench. They could very well finish one-two in the Sixth Man of the Year race. Still, championship defenses don't give up 85 points in a half. Championship teams don't commit 22 turnovers, even if a lot of them were with a giant lead when a certain amount of sloppiness might be understandable. And what about Kevin Durant only attempting eight shots? Yeah, he went to the free throw line enough to still end up with 21 points before fouling out, and yes, Patrick Beverley deserves credit as one of the all-time pains in the neck. But this is Kevin Durant we're talking about. Eight shots? Nine turnovers? In a playoff game? Look, it's important to keep perspective here. The Warriors looked pretty damn unstoppable through the first six quarters of this series. They let their guard down with a 31-point lead and got caught. There is no reason to believe they are in any kind of danger in this series against the Clippers. But then again, they haven't exactly been a model of consistency this year. Late in the regular season, I asked Kerr about the Warriors' defense, which had been absolutely average, nothing more, all season, and whether he thought they could "flip the switch" in the playoffs.<doc-sep>Not only did the Golden State Warriors end up losing Game 2 to the Los Angeles Clippers in heartbreaking fashion,135-131, they now have another injury and it's a significant one. A few minutes into Game 2 on Monday night, DeMarcus Cousins suffered a quad injury when he dove for a loose ball. On Tuesday, afternoon, the Warriors officially announced that Cousins had suffered a torn quad and offered an update on what will come next for the big man as he begins to work his way back from, yet, another injury. "Warriors center DeMarcus Cousins, who exited last night's Game 2 against the Los Angeles Clippers with 8:09 remaining in the first quarter, underwent an MRI exam earlier this morning in the Bay Area. The MRI confirmed that Cousins had suffered a torn left quadriceps muscle. The injury will sideline Cousins indefinitely and he will begin rehabilitation immediately. Updates on his progress will be made as appropriate." Now, we have our first update. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr told reporters on Wednesday that Cousins will not need surgery, but he's still likely out for the remainder of the playoffs. Cousins struggled in Game 1, which was his NBA playoff debut after missing the postseason during the first eight years of his career. The former All-Star center posted nine points and nine rebounds on 4-of-12 shooting from the field in just 21 minutes of playing time. Kerr had predicted that Cousins would bounce back as the series progressed, but that is obviously not in the cards anymore. Assuming this is indeed the end of the season for Cousins, it's a huge bummer after all the work he did to get back in shape and make his playoff debut.<doc-sep>
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." Full Steve Kerr update on DeMarcus Cousins: No surgery required, rehab likely a couple months, expected to miss playoffs, but staff has told Kerr that this injury occasionally heals quicker, so they’re leaving return door open pic.twitter.com/LE7CxJhvhT — Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) April 17, 2019 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." Story continues 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." More from Yahoo Sports: