No. 3 player who played his last game as a Clipper: DeMarcus Cousins
It’s hard not to like what we saw from DeMarcus Cousins in these last two Clippers playoff games with Ivica Zubac out.
He was asked to step up with both the top two centers out for the Clippers, and did so.
In fact, in our Game 5 win, he had a playoff career-high 15 points. He played just 11 minutes in that game, and still delivered.
That minute total kind of also shows something important too. Even with both Zubac and Ibaka hurt, Cousins only fit in for 11 minutes in Game 5 and 14 in Game 6. Again, this was even when he was playing well and drawing double-teams.
There’s just not a ton of room for his style of basketball in this lineup, realizing the Clippers preferred just going small instead of including him in the playoffs when they were shorthanded in the frontcourt.
Cousins will likely be playing in the NBA next year, but it most likely will not be for the Clippers.
He enters free agency at 30 years old, and will be 31 by the start of the next season.
The Clippers will likely not be interested enough to bring him back, and the same can be said about Patterson and Coffey.