Warriors mailbag: DeMarcus Cousins' return? Draymond Green's health?
After the Warriors’ practice Sunday afternoon at Detroit Mercy, I watched for about 20 minutes as Cousins participated in a 5-on-5 scrimmage. My biggest takeaway was that, if it were the playoffs, he could play now and contribute. He was throwing down alley-oop dunks and moving with relative ease. At this point, Cousins just needs to improve his conditioning a bit to be completely game-ready.
It’s possible that Cousins returns Dec. 27 against the Trail Blazers at Oracle, Dec. 29 in Portland or Dec. 31 in Phoenix, but I think it’s more likely that Golden State gives him a few more days to get his conditioning back. If I had to guess, I’d say he probably comes back Jan. 3 against Houston or Jan. 5 in Sacramento. I won’t be shocked, however, if Cousins returns that following week.