Golden State Warriors: 3 players facing the most pressure in 2018-19

1. DeMarcus Cousins

The player who will be facing the most pressure next season is DeMarcus Cousins. Boogie will be facing pressure for two obvious reasons. First, his decision to join Golden State was highly controversial. Secondly, his battle to recover from his Achilles injury will be a looming problem.

Let’s start with his decision to join the Warriors. It has become clear that Cousins is one of the best big men in the league. With this reputation, it is expected that he should be a leader and attempt to build his own championship-contending team. By joining the already elite Golden State Warriors, Cousins threw this mentality in the trash — at least for this year.

The four-time All-Star will now be playing for an already established franchise. This is something that has turned off many of the NBA’s biggest fans. Cousins will feel pressure to prove that he isn’t just riding the Dubs’ coattails and actually deserves to win an NBA championship.

What will bring even more pressure is his journey back from injury. Ruptured Achilles have ended the careers of many great athletes. Boogie will attempt to avoid having his name added to that list of players, but he’ll have to do so quickly with free agency looming less than a year from now.

At age 27, Cousins has youth on his side. However, there is no telling how a player his size (6’11”, 270 pounds) will respond to an injury this serious. It is uncertain if this will have a significant impact on his game and the necessary adjustments could be devastating.

Lastly, Cousins will be forced to mesh with four other All-Star players. He has never played on a roster this talented and growing pains will be a factor. If he fails to blend in with the rest of the team, his status in the league will plummet.

Add all of this up and it will be a pressure-filled season for DeMarcus Cousins.