Los Angeles Lakers: 3 players facing the most pressure in 2019-20

3. DeMarcus Cousins

To say that injuries have limited Cousins over the past couple of seasons would be an understatement. Thanks to a torn Achilles injury he sustained when he played for the New Orleans Pelicans, Cousins suited up just 30 times for the Golden State Warriors last season.

Additonally, a quad injury limited him to just eight postseason appearances during the Warriors’ run to a fifth consecutive NBA Finals. Of those eight games, DMC reached the 20-minute threshold just three times.

To be fair though, Cousins peformed reasonably well during the regular season, as he put up 16.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists per contest. He also produced three double-digit outings in the Finals despite sitting out more than six weeks.

Even more to the point, Cousins averaged at least 22.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per outing in each of the five seasons he played prior to linking up with the Warriors in 2018-19.

Along with being a good low-post scorer, Cousins has proven he can knock it down from deep as well. In fact, he shot 33.3 percent from beyond the arc in 2015-16; 36.1 percent in 2016-17 and 35.4 percent in 2017-18.

Simply put, the guy is a matchup nightmare for opposing teams, when he’s healthy.

As a surprise to no one, Cousins’ stock didn’t improve all that much following an abbreviated season with the Dubs, which has resulted in him agreeing to another one-year deal.

However, if he can stay healthy — which is a big IF at this point — Cousins will reclaim his status as one of most dominant big men in the league, thus earning him the big payday he has been seeking.