The resurgence is here in presence only. No one’s ever said that it would be easy.

DeMarcus Cousins planted his shoulder into the chest of Rockets’ center Clint Capella, knocking him off balance long enough to blow by him. The only thing that was in front of Cousins at this point was the rim and opportunity. He wanted to posterize his struggles and his frustrations of smoked layups and turnovers before.

But without the burst and lift that he possessed a year ago, the rim-rattling dunk that Cousins wanted dissolved into an off balance and errant layup. This wasn’t the only time in the Warriors six point loss to the Rockets that Cousins struggled into the paint. In fact, this has been a trend during the past few games.

Cousins has played eleven games since tearing his Achilles. The adrenaline from the first two games in his return is gone. What’s left now is the reality that he is still rehabbing as far as getting back to what he once was on the court. However, that doesn’t mean that he his struggles aren’t any less sobering and emotionally taxing.

“It’s frustrating as hell,” Cousins told reporters postgame. “Sometimes, I want to do things that my body’s not going to be able to do. But you know, I’ve come far. I knew I would have thats like this. It’s just about battling through them. And sticking with it.”

As far as the Warriors are concerned, they too must remember where Cousins is in his road to recovery. This is where the real work begins. With that said, the Warriors can utilize Cousins and adapt to his current strengths until he establishes consistent and effective scoring.

The Third Playmaker

While Cousins continues to find his rhythm on offense, he could focus on being a playmaker in the post. Cousins’ passing and court vision is still present. The Warriors can feed Cousins in the post while the offense moves and the Warriors could implement split post action to get Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and Klay Thompson open looks. Also, a Cousins/Draymond pick and roll may be effective since opposing defenses are still daring Green to shoot. Green can and should cut to the basket for easy dunks and and one opportunities.

Taking Advantage of Mismatches

In order for Cousins to get into rhythm, he should still look for his own shot around the rim if given the opportunity. Whenever there is a guard on him, he should at least be aggressive enough to feast on the block. He has to push for these opportunities but do so without disrupting the flow of the Warriors offense. This team is at it’s best when the ball moves around. In the past few games, the Warriors have had a tendency to feed Cousins more than what they need to. In the process, the ball becomes stuck. For a few games, it wouldn’t hurt the Warriors to only feed Cousins when a mismatch is indeed present instead of feeding him just for the sake of it.

Defense

Cousins’ offense will come around the more he plays. His struggles there are common for someone coming off of an Achilles injury. However, Cousins’ struggles on defense are well documented before his injury. The Rockets and the Kings made it a point to attack Cousins in pick and roll situations. It’s up to the other Warriors to help defend. Opposing offenses want to draw Cousins outside of the post? Another Warrior will have to help Cousins with the switch so he can return to the post. If not, someone has to sag off a little to guard the paint while Cousins is on the perimeter. While isolated, it’s also up to Cousins to fight over the screen. Usually, it’d be a big that’s setting it. Cousins could use some of the same tactics that he use on the block to knife through and fight over the screen. Opposing offense will use this weakness to get some clean looks for their best shooters. So it’s up to the Warriors to help defend by deploying traps and overplaying the passing lanes.