DeMarcus Cousins out for the season: Twitter reacts
By David Rouben
The New Orleans Pelicans’ playoff push took a serious hit when DeMarcus Cousins went down. Somebody give their fans a hug.
It’s hard to be a New Orleans sports fan right now. A few weeks ago, they had to see the Saints lose a playoff game in the most gut-wrenching fashion possible. So when they turned their attention to the Pelicans, they saw a team that was in a playoff hunt, and had two all-star bigs that nearly resembled the San Antonio Spurs’ twin towers.
But one of those towers went down during a potential playoff preview against the Houston Rockets. The Pelicans won, 115-113, but at the cost of DeMarcus Cousins now being out for the season after tearing his Achilles.
It’s a devastating blow, considering Cousins was in the midst of a career-best season — he recently had a triple-double with 44 points and 24 rebounds. He was also on the verge of his first ever playoff appearance after he and Anthony Davis have been carrying them to a top-eight spot in the West.
As one would expect, Pelicans fans aren’t taking this news very lightly:
New Orleans has been aggressive in the trade market, trying to add wing help and shooting to fortify a playoff run. Devastating blow for DeMarcus Cousins, who would've made his first trip to the playoffs and entered free agency off his most successful pro season.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 27, 2018
As we covered in a recent @nytimes NBA newsletter, New Orleans has been planning to offer DeMarcus Cousins a five-year max deal in the $175 million range on July 1 and widely expected to re-sign him immediately. The calculus involved obviously just got a lot more complicated ...
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) January 27, 2018
https://twitter.com/Sp0rtsTaIkJ0e/status/957110364960886784
Don't take away DeMarcus Cousins. pic.twitter.com/mmYvPUqBtC
— The Bird Writes (@thebirdwrites) January 27, 2018
Pelicans fans, reading that DeMarcus Cousins is out for the season: pic.twitter.com/wYu71AgtrP
— NOTSportsCenter (@NOTSportsCenter) January 27, 2018
https://twitter.com/PhuckYoTwitta/status/957108601503535104
My heart goes out to DeMarcus Cousins and the city of New Orleans tonight. The Pelicans were just starting to gel and it was a joy to watch.
— Christian Rivas (@RadRivas) January 27, 2018
https://twitter.com/yoStax/status/957113157402554368
DeMarcus Cousins is hurt so don't talk to me ever
— Zito (@_Zeets) January 27, 2018
Me: wow, pels finally starting to figure it out! Great team with a bright futur.....
— Garrett Frey (@garrett_frey) January 27, 2018
Demarcus cousins’ Achilles: https://t.co/X1iUhVplbe
There are a lot of questions to process for the Pelicans’ brass. Can they still make the playoffs? Do they become sellers now instead of buyers? How does this affect Cousins’ free agent stock? While they will certainly sort out lineup and trade concerns in the near future, that is the least of their concerns while they’re still in the grieving process.
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It is possible for the Pelicans to make a playoff run. Any team with Davis as their best player won’t be an easy out, and Jrue Holiday has quietly been putting up career numbers as well. They may still decide to add at the trade deadline, but without Cousins, their chances of actually winning a playoff series have decreased dramatically. Even if they make the playoffs, this feels like a lost season.