Golden State Warriors center DeMarcus Cousins is reportedly expected to miss the remainder of the post-season with a "significant left quadriceps injury," according to a report by Yahoo Sports' Chris Haynes. That said, Haynes notes "there’s faint optimism that he could possibly return for the NBA Finals."
Cousins fell to the floor while tracking down a loose ball just minutes into the first quarter and immediately called to be taken out of the game. The 28-year old All Star is scheduled to undergo an MRI on Tuesday, but the Warriors are reportedly prepared to learn that he suffered a torn left quad.
In his first season with Golden State, Cousins appeared in 30 games, averaging 16.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.5 blocks in roughly 26 minutes of action per night. He is set to become a free agent this Summer.
"There's a pretty significant quad injury," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said after the game. "We'll get an MRI [on Tuesday], but he's going to be out for -- I'll just say a while because I think it's unclear right now how long he'll be out. It's significant."
"It's tough, for sure," Stephen Curry said. "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. I don't know the extent of the injury at this point. Hope he gets back sooner than later. 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."
The Warriors went on to lose by the final of 135-131 on Monday night, after they blew a 31-point lead. Their first-round series with the Clippers is now knotted at 1-1 as the teams head to Los Angeles for Games 3 and 4, airing on Thursday night and Sunday afternoon.
UPDATE: