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No More Boogie in the Bay: What This Means for the LA Clippers

By Jacob Glosup

OAKLAND, CA - APRIL 13: DeMarcus Cousins #0 of the Golden State Warriors drives past Montrezl Harrell #5 of the LA Clippers during Game One of Round One of the 2019 NBA Playoffs on April 13, 2019 at ORACLE Arena in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA - APRIL 13: DeMarcus Cousins #0 of the Golden State Warriors drives past Montrezl Harrell #5 of the LA Clippers during Game One of Round One of the 2019 NBA Playoffs on April 13, 2019 at ORACLE Arena in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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DeMarcus Cousins, starting center for the Golden State Warriors, has been diagnosed with a torn left quad. What does this mean for the LA Clippers?

Last night, DeMarcus Cousins, the starting center for the Golden State Warriors, left the game in the first quarter with a left quad injury. As of today, Cousins has been diagnosed with a torn left quad, per Shams Charania.

First and foremost, our condolences go out to DeMarcus Cousins and the entire Warriors organization. We wish a healthy and full recovery for him.

The LA Clippers, and specifically center Ivica Zubac, caught a massive break with this severely unfortunate injury to Golden State’s squad. DeMarcus Cousins, a former All-Star, will now have to sit out back-to-back postseason campaigns with the Warriors.

This gives the Clippers not astounding, but adequate breathing room at the center position. For Golden State, Draymond Green, Kevin Looney, Jordan Bell, and Andrew Bogut are capable of logging solid time at the center position. Boogie balled all over Zu in Game 1 of this series. As a result, Zubac played very limited minutes and underperformed.

Per the Locked On Clippers podcast, Zubac looked lost, confused, and wasn’t playing the same help defense he demonstrated earlier this season. As a result, he got pulled from the game and didn’t see much time in Game 2 either.

His defensive liabilities were really exaggerated when matched up against Cousins, so much so, that his offensive contributions did not matter. Additionally, his scoring has struggled in the first two games of the series, so in no way could head coach Doc Rivers justify keeping Zubac on the floor.

Perhaps this loss to Golden State will allow Zubac to see his minutes increase. He is a promising young center and this intense playoff opponent would provide him valuable experience.

Expect Ivica Zubac to continue to start for the Clippers, as Montrezl Harrell should continue to come off of the bench. Andrew Bogut will likely start for the Warriors, per the San Francisco Chronicle.

In terms of alternate matchups at the center position, expect to see more of Harrell against Green. These two are undersized for the center position, 6’8″ and 6’7″, respectively. They overcome this shortcoming with inexhaustible energy, hustle, and passion.

Overall, when looking at possible series results, the outlook still appears to favor Golden State. The Warriors won a chip last year without Boogie and could very well do the same this year.

Takeaways from Game 2. dark. Next

However, the balance of power has shifted in this matchup. Now the Clippers have an increased chance of pulling off a first-round upset. Let us not forget that the last team to beat the Warriors in the playoffs (excluding the Finals) were the LA Clippers back in 2014. This is the first time the two teams have met in the playoffs since.