DeMarcus Cousins cheers for his team in the sidelines while waiting for a full recovery, but his return to active play could be in the cards soon, according to Lakers head coach Frank Vogel. Cousins suffered a torn ACL while in training last year and is doubtful to join his team's campaign, but Vogel seems convinced the door has opened for the Boogie's return.
The Lakers are a strong favorite to reach the finals and even win the championship series, and there is a possibility Cousins would be able to join the team that is bannered by LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Such was the assessment offered by Vogel, who noted the big man has been working doubly hard for another shot to play on the court and be part of a team in title contention, Clutch Points reported.
The Lakers have given the green light for Cousins to participate in "light warmup," which possibly could be the path for his return to active duty in the months ahead.
"As far as I know he's still on track. He's still a possibility to play this year, but I can't really go into more detail ... That's just like light jogging and those types of things," Vogel was reported as saying.
Indeed, Cousins seeing some actions for the Lakers is reality. The team has already pocketed 28 wins in 35 games and in line to continue on the winning ways up to the final stage. There will be more games that Los Angeles will be playing and Cousins could still jump in especially if the club will be in the Finals, which will start in June.
Bleacher Report said a healthy Cousins is big deal for the Lakers. Prior to his injury woes, the big man boasts of these impressive stats: per-game averages of 21.2 points, 10.9 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.2 blocks.
"His return could provide the Lakers with a massive boost," the report added.
However, even before Cousins gets to wear the Purple & Gold on the court, he already is making his presence felt, willingly taking on a leadership role and guiding his teammates, Heavy reported.
Davis, who played with the Boogie at New Orleans revealed that Cousins joining the team in limited capacity did pretty good on members of the lineup.
"Even though he's not able to play, he's always involved in practices and shoot-arounds and stuff like that as much as he can," AD was reported as saying.
In Cousins' absence, the duo of JaVale McGee and Dwight Howard have been filling in and delivering the expected contributions. Yet they still lack the presence and flexibility that only Cousins, at a fully-recovered state, can provide.
