DeMarcus Cousins' Return Delayed, Nuggets Coach Praises Warriors Center

The anticipation for the debut of DeMarcus Cousins for the Golden State Warriors is heating up with the center nearing a return after spending almost a year out with an Achilles injury suffered when he was with the New Orleans Pelicans.

The four-time NBA All-Star joined the Warriors on a one-year $5.3 million deal in the summer after the Pelicans refused him a long-term contract extension after he entered free agency. He admitted at the time that the deal with the Warriors was a "last-resort" move.

Cousins has been in rehabilitation since he joined the reigning back-to-back champions and last week head coach Steve Kerr revealed he was close to making a comeback. While he was confident the center will return for the Jan. 18 game against the Los Angeles Clippers, he admitted that he could return for the game against the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday night.

However, ahead of Tuesday night’s game against the Denver Nuggets, which at the time of writing, the Warriors are leading by 20-points with four minutes to go in the second quarter, coach Kerr confirmed that Cousins will not be fully cleared to play against the Pelicans.

“Steve Kerr officially ruled out DeMarcus Cousins for tomorrow against New Orleans at Oracle Arena,” Mark Medina, the Warriors writer for Mercury News, said on his official Twitter page.

As first predicted, Cousins will make his official debut for the Warriors against the Clippers on Friday night – and Kerr has previously confirmed that the center will go straight into the starting lineup when he returns to action, which means all five starters will be All-Stars.

Meanwhile, Nuggets coach Michael Malone has praised Cousins – with whom he shared one and a half years at Sacramento Kings – ahead of their clash against the Warriors on Tuesday night and is certain that the big center will help them when he returns to action. He compared Cousins to his current center Nikola Jokic, who at 23, is lighting up the NBA with some scintillating performances.

"When (Cousins) is healthy, he’s one of the more unstoppable big men in the NBA," Malone said, as quoted on the San Francisco Chronicle. "He reminds me of Nikola in this regard: He can score inside, he can score outside, he can handle the ball and he can make his teammates better. He’ll give (the Warriors) a definite lift when he’s able to go out there and play for them."