It's neither Cousins nor Barnes fault. It's just very obvious, that we can't manage to find ways for Cuz to get efficient looks against lineups with the quickness advantage. Not the first time Spoelstra pulled this stunt off versus Cousins and when the ref's let them get away with the level of physicality, it seems to be a pretty good tactic to take Cuz out of the game or to at least make him inefficient. Problem is, that we depend on Cousins 100% as soon as he is on the floor. Our guards are looking for him, instead of making plays on their own. We want him to create his own offense, instead of playing off our guards. In a game like this, where our guards had the momentum in the 4th, I have a hard time understanding that. Of course you have to put your best player back on the floor, but when he struggles like this, why not try to give him the same looks KK gets? Rolls to the rim, drop off passes, putbacks....easy baskets and not 1vs1 drives from 3 into traffic or 1vs1 jab step jumpshots.
We cut our own momentum, not because of Cousins, but because we quit doing, what got us back into the game, which was guard penetration and ball movement.