Draymond Green Compares DeMarcus Cousins in Finals to Kid 'Dropped in the Hood'

Draymond Green believes teammate DeMarcus Cousins will be in for quite an adjustment should he return to the court during the 2019 NBA Finals.

"It's kind of like a kid who grew up in the suburbs, then one day you just got dropped in the hood and are told to survive," he said Wednesday, per the San Francisco Chronicle's Connor Letourneau.

Cousins never reached the postseason in his six-and-a-half years with the Sacramento Kings. Although the New Orleans Pelicans were a playoff team last season, Cousins didn't play because he was recovering from a torn Achilles.

That injury delayed his Warriors debut until Jan. 18, which made for a tricky transition into the lineup. When Cousins finally got his first taste of playoff basketball, he tore his left quadriceps muscle in Game 2 against the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round.

Speaking to reporters, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr acknowledged the NBA Finals present a different challenge for how to handle Cousins' usage.

Golden State has a 7.4 net rating without Cousins this postseason, per NBA.com.

In the past, the Warriors won titles with Zaza Pachulia, JaVale McGee and an aging Andrew Bogut as their best options at center. The position simply isn't a necessity given their style, which emphasizes spacing the floor, ball movement and defensive interchangeability.

As much as Kerr will want to get Cousins on the floor, he has to consider how it impacts the entire team. Playing Cousins in limited minutes might have to be a necessary sacrifice so as not to disrupt the flow of what the Warriors have going.