DeMarcus Cousins has indeed found a home

Michael Malone tried to speak a successful DeMarcus Cousins Nuggets tenure into existence before the backup center even played his first game in Denver.

“I anticipate it going well,” Malone said ahead of Cousins’ debut. “I’m just thankful that he’s here.”

You could tell from Cousins’ first day with the Nuggets that if he played well, embraced his role, and didn’t cause too much drama behind the scenes he’d likely be here for the long haul. The Nuggets desperately needed a backup center — or maybe just someone over 6-foot-8 — all season, and Cousins was the best available option. Malone, Cousins’ former coach in Sacramento, was going to fight for him at every turn. It didn’t take long for his teammates including Nikola Jokic to fall in line.

“I love him,” Jokic said back on Feb. 6. “Before, we were kind of rivals. He’s actually a really good guy. Fun to be around. Great personality. Can get a little bit crazy when the refs don’t go his way. He proved me wrong.”

“I think he can help us.”

Cousins has helped and likely will continue to aid the Nuggets during their stretch run to the playoffs. Denver is planning to sign Cousins to a contract for the rest of the season after three 10-day deals. Shams Charania of The Athletic first reported the news Tuesday. Mike Singer of the Denver Post reported the deal will be official Friday. The Nuggets’ first game back from the All-Star break is Thursday at Sacramento.

For each day that passes without signing Cousins, the cap hit that the Nuggets take decreases by about $9K.

It gives them some breathing room under the tax, based on what incentives may hit by the end of the season. https://t.co/YCqfZghjUr

— Jake Coyne (Stat Squatch) (@BroncoSquatch) February 22, 2022

Cousins has appeared in eight games for the Nuggets. Here’s his brief resume:

• 8-0 record when in the lineup with wins over the Pistons (twice), Nets (twice), Pelicans, Raptors, Magic and Warriors.
• Averaged of 6.1 points and 6.3 rebounds in 13.1 minutes per game.
• Terrible shooting numbers (29.4 FG%, 27.8 3P%) including 6-24 (25%) from the paint (non-restricted area).
• Dominant rebounding numbers on both the offensive and defensive glass.

Let’s take a closer look at that last bullet point.

Before Cousins’ debut on Jan. 23, the Nuggets uncharacteristically ranked 24th in the league in offensive rebounding. For a team that’s been at worst the third-best offensive rebounding team in the league every season since Jokic’s rookie year, Denver’s poor offensive rebounding, specifically from its bench, had been a huge red flag.

That group could never generate any second-chance points. They couldn’t manufacture many healthy looks in the half-court either. So when Bones Hyland, Austin Rivers, Davon Reed, Zeke Nnaji or JaMychal Green’s first shot attempt of the possession rocketed off the iron, that was it.

Cousins has fixed that problem by himself.

Over the last month, Denver has shot up to 17th in offensive rebounding percentage. With Cousins on the floor, the Nuggets are corralling 38.8% of their potential offensive rebounds. In the eight games Cousins has appeared in, Denver’s averaging a 33.7 OREB%. If the Nuggets were hitting that number all season, they’d be the best offensive rebounding team in the league. Before Cousins’ arrival, Denver was hauling in only 25.8% of its available offensive rebounds.

Simply put: When Cousins has played, the Nuggets have been the NBA’s best offensive rebounding team.

He’s been even more dominant on the defensive glass. Cousins has grabbed 34% of his total available rebounds in a Nuggets uniform when on the court. That’s the best percentage in the NBA and higher than Jokic (31.4%) and even Rudy Gobert (31.4%). On a per-minute basis with Denver, Cousins has been the league’s best defensive rebounder and the second-best rebounder overall. Andre Drummond leads the NBA in total REB% (23.6%). Cousins is at 23.1%.

Cousins has also taken Denver’s bench from awful to below average, which is actually a huge improvement. The first half of the Nuggets’ season was marred by the second unit giving away huge leads, and a lot of the time the double-digit advantages Denver’s starters had built. Cousins has only recorded a positive +/- in two of his eight appearances but hasn’t been in the double-digit negatives even once.

It hasn’t been all smooth sailing. Most notably, Cousins hasn’t been able to stay healthy. He was dealing with a nagging calf injury when he signed and a foot sprain sidelined him for four-straight games last month. The Nuggets know they need a backup center they can rely upon to spell Jokic and questions around Cousins’ durability have been Denver’s key concern with keeping him around for the rest of the season. Cousins also picked up four technicals and one ejection over his first five games. He hasn’t been hit with any technicals since but is still averaging 7.9 fouls per 36 minutes.

However, Cousins’ physicality and toughness is something that this Nuggets group has so obviously needed. No one’s going to try and punk DeMarcus Cousins in the playoffs. No one’s going to try and mess with this 12-year vet. I think there’s some hope within the Nuggets that Cousins can get into better shape and regain some of his quickness and athleticism as the season progresses and he’s consistently around the team.

This rumble down the lane was a promising development.

“He’s here with us,” Malone said last week as the Nuggets went into the All-Star break. “He’s found a home.”

Cousins also still has that special touch on his passes and court vision that landed him on all those customary lists as one of the league’s best passing big men during his prime years with the Kings. His skill-set and style allow the Nuggets’ bench to now carry a little more offensive synergy over from the starters than they were able to before.

That’s key because more playmakers — I’m not talking about Jamal Murray or Michael Porter Jr. here — likely aren’t coming to rotation. I checked with a source Monday who reaffirmed that there’s a good chance that the Nuggets’ current roster with Cousins is final. Injuries can always change a team’s priorities and needs, but this is likely the final squad.

Cousins’ revival is shaping up to be a heck of a story. He was briefly out of the league after his 14-game stint with Milwaukee earlier this season. but Denver signed him off his couch to reunite with Malone and solidify the Nuggets’ bench. Cousins’ career once again has life.

He’s found a home indeed.