DeMarcus Cousins ruled out for Team USA’s game vs. Brazil

On Thursday we learned that forward DeMarcus Cousins of the Sacramento Kings injured his leg in practice, the first practice since the horrific broken leg that Paul George suffered. It was yet another blow to a Team USA roster that is devoid of some of the biggest names in the NBA already.

However, not only did Cousins injure himself, it appears serious enough that he’s already been ruled out of the game versus Brazil on Saturday.

ESPN.com is reporting that Team USA’s director, Jerry Colangelo, has confirmed Cousins’ absence for the game, but also is noting that Cousins will go for an MRI on his right leg as a precautionary measure.

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Cousins was likely in line for a big role given the loss of George and the subsequent withdrawal of forward Kevin Durant.

However, we still have no exact word on the severity of the injury, just that it is bad enough for him to be ruled out of at least this warm up for the FIBA World Cup.

The loss of Cousins not only hurts the depth, but it hurts this team in terms of having an inside rebounding presence as well.

Without Cousins team USA will have to rely on Anthony Davis and Mason Plumlee to fill that space-eating role, which aren’t the duo’s strong-suits.

The United States were drawn in to a group with the Dominican Republic, Finland, New Zealand, Turkey and the Ukraine. Team USA opens up its World Cup campaign on Aug. 30 against Finland.