Despite being ‘close,’ Rockets say Russell Westbrook will miss Game 5

Hours after Mike D’Antoni said “it’s close” regarding Russell Westbrook’s return, Houston listed the All-Star as out for Game 5.

Hours after Houston head coach Mike D’Antoni said All-Star guard Russell Westbrook was “close” to returning, the Rockets listed him as out for Game 5 of their first-round playoff series versus Oklahoma City.

Westbrook has been listed as “out” with a right quad strain on all injury reports since Aug. 12. He initially injured the quad in a “seeding” game on Tuesday, Aug. 4 versus Portland, then returned to play 28 minutes in an effectively meaningless game on Tuesday, Aug. 11.

Though Westbrook was listed as out the next day, D’Antoni said at the time he did not believe he had reaggravated the injury by playing.

In recent days, according to both D’Antoni and practice videos, Westbrook has clearly ramped up his on-court activities. Here’s what D’Antoni said about Westbrook prior to Tuesday’s practice, which came hours before the release of the official injury report at 4:30 Central:

Not going to rule anything out or anything in. We’ll see. …

As soon as they [the medical staff] tell me that he can go and he feels like he can go, he’ll go. … He’ll work out today and get on the court and see how he feels, and they’ll make a determination. It’s close. They’ll make a good call, and he’ll do the same.

Wednesday’s Game 5 will be 15 days since Westbrook’s last game.

D’Antoni said last week that new MRI imaging had shown improvement in Westbrook’s quad relative to the prior week, and that he had begun doing some running and other on-court activities as of Friday.

The NBA’s automated cameras at the Disney World “bubble” captured Westbrook going through a series of drills at Houston’s Sunday practice, and he appeared to have minimal (if any) restrictions.

It is worth noting that while Westbrook is listed as out for Game 5, that listing is not yet binding. For example, the Thunder listed Lu Dort as out a day before Game 2, only to upgrade his status on the morning of the game. However, that is clearly the exception to the usual rule.

In best-of-seven series tied at 2-2, as the Rockets-Thunder battle now is, the winner of Game 5 has historically won the series more than 80% of the time. So while it isn’t truly an elimination game for the Rockets, it carries a significant impact — and the absence of half of the usual All-Star backcourt of former MVPs has clearly taken a toll in recent losses.

Prior to Game 3, D’Antoni suggested that Houston’s 2-0 edge in the series allowed them to be more cautious with Westbrook’s timetable. With the series now tied, that no longer appears to be the case.
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Now 31 years old, Westbrook has averaged 27.2 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 7.0 assists in 35.9 minutes per game during a brilliant debut season in Houston. A nine-time NBA All-Star and the 2017 MVP, Westbrook shot a career-high 47.2% in the regular season with the Rockets — whose small-ball approach opened up more opportunities to attack the rim. He is the team’s No. 2 scorer, trailing only MVP finalist James Harden.

Game 5 between the Rockets and Thunder tips off at 5:30 p.m. Central on Wednesday, with a national broadcast on TNT and a regional version (with Houston announcers) on AT&T SportsNet Southwest.

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