DeMarcus Cousins may miss the rest of the playoffs

Reeling a little after blowing a big lead Monday night, the Golden State Warriors will now be without DeMarcus Cousins.

The Golden State Warriors were well on their way to a decisive win over the Los Angeles Clippers, and a 2-0 series lead Monday. But before they blew a 31-point lead, center DeMarcus Cousins suffered what is feared to be torn left quad in the first quarter.

Cousins is slated for an MRI on Tuesday, at which point the severity of the injury will be confirmed. There’s not a lot of optimism though, and according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo! Sports Cousins is expected to miss the remainder of the playoffs.

However, there is “faint optimism” he could return for the NBA Finals.

Cousins signed a one-year deal with the Warriors last offseason, as he was rehabbing a torn left Achilles. In 30 regular season games after returning from that torn Achilles, he averaged 16.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.5 blocks and 1.3 steals per game.

In Game 1 against the Clippers he had nine points, nine rebounds and four assists over 21 minutes, as he also fouled out.

Here’s a look at the play Cousins was injured on, as he was chasing a loose ball and trying to complete a fast break.

At halftime of Monday night’s game, TNT analyst Charles Barkley cited the similarities he saw in Cousins’ injury to his own quad injury when he was a player. Suffice to say, it only added to the lack of optimism for Cousins.

The Warriors are reeling a little after setting a record for a blown playoff lead, and losing Cousins only adds to that.

The team should survive without him, as long as their other best players are healthy, but Cousins will now go into a second straight offseason as a free agent coming off a major injury.