The Houston Rockets have yet to give an official timetable, but they’re reportedly planning to be without All-Star guard Russell Westbrook (right quad strain) for at least the start of the 2020 NBA playoffs.
Per Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, the team expects that Westbrook will be out for the first few games of next week’s playoff series against the Oklahoma City Thunder, and possibly longer. In his report, Feigen cited “a person with knowledge of the team’s thinking.”
After missing two games with the injury last Thursday and this Sunday, Westbrook returned on Tuesday with 20 points in 28 minutes against San Antonio. However, Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni said Wednesday that Westbrook had woken up “kind of sore.”
Rockets expect Russell Westbrook to miss at least the start of the playoffs, source said. https://t.co/WrslB1EesE
— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) August 13, 2020
From there, Westbrook underwent an MRI, which Feigen says indicated a strain that will need enough time to heal that it could compromise his playoff availability. “The results revealed a strained quadriceps muscle in his right leg,” the team said in a statement issued after the MRI. “Westbrook will be out for Friday’s game versus Philadelphia, and his status will be re-evaluated before the playoffs start next week.”
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When asked after Wednesday’s game whether he believed Westbrook would be ready for the playoffs, D’Antoni said:
We hope. We’ll re-evaluate in a couple days. We’ll see how it responds. We’ll see next week, I don’t know right now. …
They’re checking it out and making sure it can respond to treatment.
D’Antoni said he did not believe Westbrook reaggravated the injury against the Spurs, noting that he felt fine during and after the game.
Now 31 years old, Westbrook is averaging 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 league’s 2017 MVP, Westbrook is shooting a career-high 47.2% with the Rockets — whose small-ball approach has opened up more opportunities to attack the rim.
In Westbrook’s absence, the Rockets would likely start veteran guard Eric Gordon in his place. Gordon, who just returned Wednesday from an injury absence of his own (sprained left ankle), is Houston’s third-leading scorer at 14.5 points in 28.4 minutes per game this season.
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