The Boogie Cousins Injury Sucks

Last weekend Boogie Cousins, a center/power forward for the New Orleans Pelicans, and one of my favorite players, ruptured his Achilles. He didn't just tear it, he ruptured it. This is a brutal, brutal injury for the team and Boogie.

The Pelicans were a middling Western Conference playoff team. I believe they were in the 6th or 7th spot the night he got hurt. They have 2 All Star starters on the team, Boogie being one and Anthony Davis the other. But besides those 2, the cupboard is pretty bare in New Orleans. Jrue Holiday is a very solid point guard. He is the only other player on their roster that can get buckets and create for other guys. The Pelicans are paying him way too much money, but his deal was more to keep Davis happy, and to try and get Boogie to sign this offseason. Outside these three guys, the Pelicans roster is filled with either rookies or unproven veterans. In fact, some of the guys seeing critical minutes and starting games should be in the G League. That is how brutal this roster construct is.

Coach Alvin Gentry is doing an okay job, but he may be better suited as an assistant at this point in his career. His one saving grace, and the reason the Pelicans are clinging to a playoff spot right now, is due to his version of the twin towers. When Boogie and AD played together, the Pelicans would win games, or at least make them interesting. AD had been relatively healthy this year and he is looking like the perennial all star that many pegged him to be when he came into the league. He has extended his range, he is a great rebounder, he is one of the best rim protectors in the NBA, he is one of the best rim runners in the league and he is a matchup nightmare every night.

Boogie has been out of his mind this season. He was putting up double doubles like no one's business. He has had some games of 30 plus points and 15 plus rebounds. That is amazing. He does lack effort on the defensive end, which needs to be fixed, but he has not been the headache that he was while in Sacramento. He was also rebounding at an amazing clip. He is in a contract year, and he is playing like it.

Then, the injury occurred. I was actually watching the game when it happened. When and how it happened makes this even worse. The Pelicans were on their way to a win over the Rockets. He and AD had played very well. They were up about 4 points with about 2 minutes left in the game and Boogie was going to the line to add to their lead. He made the first free throw, but then the second one happened. When he put up the shot it looked to be short, and he tried to chase down the rebound. The shot was very short, it grazed the front rim, and Boogie tore off the free throw line to try and grab it. As he took off from the line, something looked wrong. He came up lame right away. Right after he planted and took off, it looked like he was buckling under pressure from his legs. He then tried to get up and he immediately went right back down to the floor. Something was horribly, horribly wrong. His face showed it, the trainers got him off the floor ASAP, which is never a good sign, and the reports were that he was going back for an MRI right away. None of that is good news.

The early reports would only say that the news was "not good". I assumed that he tore his ACL. That is what it looked like to me. I've watched enough sports and seen enough injuries like this, I knew it was bad. But, I did not know it was worse than a torn ACL. He ruptured that shit. That is horrific. That is a tough injury to come back from. Just ask Wesley Matthews. He was tearing the league apart, ruptured his Achilles, missed a year and now he is on a terrible Mavericks team and he is an average player. Boogie is better than Wes Matthews, but still, he has a long road to recovery ahead of him. It is going to take him months before he can even get back on a court again.

Then, it will take a few more months for him to get back into playing shape. I don't doubt that he can do it, but he may not be the player that he has been his entire career up to this point. I mean, 75 percent of what he was is still an All Star, but he was a force. He was a nightmare. He was someone that teams had to openly prepare for. He is an old school bully of a center/power forward who just happens to have modern skills. His first step is amazing, and he can shoot from outside.

I think what makes this the worst for him though, he was going to get paid this offseason. He is in the final year of his contract, and he was most definitely going to get the max. Be it the Pelicans, or any other team that needed a 4 or 5, he was going to get the 5 year 200 million dollar contract for sure. Now, I don't know. He will still get paid, but maybe more teams will be hesitant to give him the years and the money. If I were a betting man I'd say he will get a 3 year deal worth much less than 200 million dollars. That stinks for him.

I hope he gets better soon, but it will be a long while before we see Boogie on the floor. I love watching Boogie Cousins, so I am very upset by this injury. This stinks and I wish star players in the major professional sports would stop getting such devastating injuries. This is just a real bummer. Get better soon Boogie, the NBA needs you.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet. 

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