Nearly a year after rupturing his Achilles tendon, DeMarcus Cousins–the star center who decided to rehab with the defending champion Warriors, just for kicks–made his long-awaited debut. As if it weren’t enough for Golden State to have three of the best shooters in the history of the sport, they now add a burly, highly skilled big to shore up their only position of relative weakness. The Clippers were the first to see this battle station at full effect, and after hanging admirably through a few quarters of play, saw it all slip away with a 112-94 loss.
The man of the hour was at once rusty, intuitive, engaged, and imposing.