HOUSTON -- Golden State Warriors injured center DeMarcus Cousins said he expects to play again this season after suffering a partially torn quadriceps muscle and envisions a "very nice ending" to the 2018-19 campaign. "For me, my goal is I ain't planning on sitting," Cousins told The Undefeated after the Warriors' shootaround in preparation for Monday's Game 4 against the Houston Rockets in a second-round playoff series. "I don't know the reality of it. But for me, that is not what I'm planning on doing...It's definitely some type of bad movie. But I think it will have a very nice ending. Just wait for it." Cousins suffered the quad injury with 8:09 left in the first quarter of Game 2 of a first-round series against the Los Angeles Clippers on April 15. The Warriors announced the next day that an MRI exam revealed that the 6-foot-10, 265-pounder had suffered a torn left quadriceps muscle. Though the Warriors said the injury would sideline Cousins indefinitely and he would begin rehabilitation immediately, he was not ruled out for the rest of the playoffs. Cousins suffered a season-ending torn left Achilles tendon in January 2018 with the New Orleans Pelicans. The first-year Warriors center returned to action on Jan. 18, 2019, against the Clippers. Cousins was ecstatic to learn that this injury did not require surgery and was not as serious as his torn Achilles. "I was confident from the beginning once they told me the severity of it," Cousins said. "Talking to the doctors helped me understand the injury a little more. I started analyzing things and playing it out in my head. I'm going to take it day by day and work my ass off like I always do... "Obviously, I was little more relieved that it wasn't anything catastrophic like I've dealt with before. It sucks to be injured anyway on top of that. The timing of it really f---ed me up the most. It's a part of this game, man. I'm not the first. I won't be the last." Though the Warriors have said that it's unlikely that Cousins will return this season, head coach Steve Kerr offered some hope Sunday, telling the media: "He's coming along pretty well. We'll just have to wait and see." Kerr added that Cousins' recovery was following a "normal progression." Cousins said he temporarily "shut the world out" following the injury due to all the skepticism he heard, but he feels much better mentally now. He moved well when he took part in a jump-shooting routine following the Warriors' shootaround on Tuesday at the Toyota Center. The athletic trainers and coaches joked with a sweat-drenched Cousins afterward that he moved well but shot poorly. When asked about potentially returning in the Rockets series or at a future time, Cousins answered, "We will see." "I'm taking it day by day," Cousins said. "I'm in better spirits, for sure. I kind of shut the world out. There are a lot of opinions out there. I shut the world out, went to my little zone and I'm taking it a day at a time. "There were too many opinions. Everybody thought they knew what was going on. Everybody is a doctor. Just sit back and watch. I will do the rest." Cousins averaged 16.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game on 48.0 percent shooting in 30 regular-season games for Golden State. The four-time All-Star's two career playoff appearances came with the Warriors before he got injured. Cousins will miss his eighth playoff game Monday when the Warriors visit the Rockets. "It's hard," Cousins said. "I wish I could be out there helping. But things happen for any reason. I'm not questioning any of it. I got something down the line that has me patient and working." Cousins added that his family and his Warriors teammates "have been there for me" through his latest injury. The 29-year-old, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, was also surprised to learn that he has been an inspiration as well. "I have had so many young players say I'm an inspiration for them," Cousins said. "I've never heard that from a player. For me to hear, that was pretty dope. And just some of the messages, they were saying I'm built for this and if anyone can do it, it's me. I think guys know my heart, my desire and my drive. I've overcome this before... "My family and my team are the people I've leaned on the most. But I feel I've been through the worst. I know how to work. I know what it takes to overcome these things. I am going to do my part."<doc-sep>The Golden State Warriors could get a big boost if they continue winning in the postseason. Despite a partially torn quad, DeMarcus Cousins expects to return before the season ends, according to ESPN’s Marc Spears. The 28-year-old Cousins partially tore his quad during the Warriors’ series against the Los Angeles Clippers. He was considered out indefinitely following the injury. Cousins said he was confident he would return the instant he knew the severity of his injury. He added that he was going to work his a-- off to get back, according to Spears. "I was confident from the beginning once they told me the severity of it," Cousins said. "Talking to the doctors helped me understand the injury a little more. I started analyzing things and playing it out in my head. I'm going to take it day by day and work my a-- off like I always do ...” Cousins is hoping for a “very nice ending” to the season after suffering an Achilles injury last year. Because of that injury, Cousins agreed to a one-year deal to join the Warriors in the offseason. Cousins is hoping he can make good on that deal before he hits the market again. DeMarcus Cousins thinks he'll be back. (AP photo/Jeff Chiu) After dispatching the Clippers in six games, the Warriors hold a 2-1 lead over the Houston Rockets in the Conference semifinals. The deeper the team gets in the postseason, the more likely it becomes that Cousins will return. Cousins played 30 games with the Warriors after recovering from his Achilles injury. He averaged 16.3 points and 8.2 rebounds with the team. ——— Chris Cwik is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik More from Yahoo Sports:<doc-sep>The Telegraph Two of the surprise packages of this clay-court season have been British – initially Dan Evans, who made a deep run in Monte Carlo, and more lately Cameron Norrie, who played his second final in three weeks on Sunday. Unfortunately, Norrie wasn’t able to land a maiden ATP title in Lyon. But then he was up against Stefanos Tsitsipas, who has been the dominant force of 2021 outside the slams, and now stands at No 1 in the table of most rankings points gained since January 1. Nevertheless, it had been a hugely creditable effort for Norrie to go this far, especially when you consider that he took out top seed Dominic Thiem on Thursday, and then trounced big-hitting Russian Karen Khachanov in Saturday’s semi-final, losing only two games in the process. Norrie has come to clay late in his career, but it feels like this is developing into his favourite surface. He has one of the heaviest left-handed forehands in the game, loaded with top-spin, and uses it like a miniature version of Rafael Nadal. The result has been a tally of 14 wins and only four losses since he began his European clay-court swing in Barcelona. So while the French Open, which starts next Sunday, has traditionally been a graveyard of British hopes, there are reasons to hope that this year’s event could deliver some more positive results. Norrie’s previous final in Estoril had been a nervewracking affair which he eventually lost on a deciding-set tie-break to the more experienced Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas. Sunday was more straightforward for Tsitsipas, who needed only 69 minutes to hammer home a 6-3, 6-3 victory. It was Tsitsipas’ second title of the clay-court sequence, after he won Monte Carlo in mid-April, taking out Evans in the semi-final along the way. He has become a serious contender to upset the establishment – specifically Nadal and Novak Djokovic – at Roland Garros over the next few weeks. “I felt in good shape from the beginning of the tournament,” said Tsitsipas afterwards. “I am proud of today’s match, I knew it would be a difficult one against Cameron, who has been showing great tennis this week. He has been winning against good players and showing what the left hand can do on clay. “It was not an easy match today. I had to handle the nerves and I am proud of my performance and the way I stayed focused towards my goal.” On this year’s results, meanwhile, both Evans and Norrie stand among the world’s 20 most successful men. Evans is at No 16 and Norrie No 14. The next challenge for them both is to convert that ATP Tour form into a deep run at a major.<doc-sep>
The Golden State Warriors lost DeMarcus Cousins early on in their opening round playoff series against the Los Angeles Clippers but it appears as though the idea that he would be done for the remainder of the postseason after suffering a quad injury may have been a bit of an exaggeration. Prior to the Warriors' matchup with the Houston Rockets in Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals, Cousins spoke with Marc J. Spears of ESPN.com's The Undefeated and made it clear that he still expects to get back out on the floor with his teammates at some point during Golden State's run through the 2019 NBA playoffs. "For me, my goal is I ain't planning on sitting," Cousins told The Undefeated after the Warriors' shootaround on in preparation for Monday's Game 4 against the Houston Rockets in a second-round playoff series. "I don't know the reality of it. But for me, that is not what I'm planning on doing... It's definitely some type of bad movie. But I think it will have a very nice ending. Just wait for it." While the injury was, obviously, something that Cousins did not want to have to work his way through after coming all the way back from the Achilles injury which ended his 2017-18 campaign prematurely, the big man took solace in the fact that doctors assured him the severity of this particular injury was nowhere near as bad as what he was forced to go through during his tenure with the New Orleans Pelicans. "I was confident from the beginning once they told me the severity of it," Cousins said. "Talking to the doctors helped me understand the injury a little more. I started analyzing things and playing it out in my head. I'm going to take it day by day and work my ass off like I always do... "Obviously, I was little more relieved that it wasn't anything catastrophic like I've dealt with before. It sucks to be injured anyway on top of that. The timing of it really f----- me up the most. It's a part of this game, man. I'm not the first. I won't be the last." Even though Cousins is not offering a concrete timetable for when he thinks he will be medically cleared at this point in time, the former All-Star is attacking his rehab as hard as he can in hopes of proving all of the doubters wrong and helping the Warriors lay claim to their third consecutive NBA championship. "I'm taking it day by day," Cousins said. "I'm in better spirits, for sure. I kind of shut the world out. There are a lot of opinions out there. I shut the world out, went to my little zone and I'm taking it a day at a time. "There were too many opinions. Everybody thought they knew what was going on. Everybody is a doctor. Just sit back and watch. I will do the rest." We'll find out soon enough whether or not Cousins can get the job done or if he will be forced to sit and watch the remainder of the postseason from the sidelines.