Prior to the NBA’s multi-month hiatus for COVID-19, which began in March, Houston Rockets star Russell Westbrook was in one of the best stretches of his distinguished 12-year career.
The All-Star guard averaged 33.4 points per game on 54.9% shooting in February, including a 40.0% clip from 3-point range.
That was Westbrook’s last full month of games, and the Rockets went 9-2 as a team after switching to a smaller lineup — which was made with his unique skillset in mind. With the floor spaced thanks to shooters at all positions, Westbrook feasted on the open driving lanes.
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But the 31-year-old was never the same after the season restarted at the Disney World “bubble” in July. Westbrook was late to Houston’s training camp in florida after being sidelined for weeks with COVID-19, and he then strained his right quad in the team’s third “seeding” game of the restart. Due to that injury, Westbrook missed four of the last five regular-season games for the Rockets, and each of the first four playoff games.
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Westbrook returned for Game 5 of the first-round series against Oklahoma City, since the series was tied, 2-2, and the Rockets clearly needed his help to advance. But he never consistently reached the superstar level that he played at earlier in the 2020 calendar year.
In eight playoff games, Westbrook averaged 17.9 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game, which were the worst of his playoff career. In Saturday’s season-ending loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals, Westbrook scored just 10 points on 4-of-13 shooting (30.8%). After the game, he was asked how much health issues played into his struggles, and this is how he responded:
It wasn’t 100 percent, but I’m not the guy to make excuses. … Obviously, an injury like this takes normally a couple weeks. I didn’t have time for that, especially with Oklahoma City.
It’s just unfortunate for me, because it’s very frustrating, honestly, man. Coming to Houston and then catching COVID, I had to sit back 20 days, 21 days without working out. When I came into Houston, I was probably in the best shape I’ve been in in a long time, coming back from the break, and then I had to kind of get re-acclimated. Then I got here, played two games, and then boom, I get hurt again.
Russell Westbrook had the worst playoff numbers (17.9 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 4.6 apg) of his career. How much were his health issues a factor? pic.twitter.com/QRPE1rG5ap
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) September 13, 2020
Westbrook then noted that he was “just trying to catch rhythm” once he returned to the Rockets midway through the playoff run.
“It’s just very frustrating, knowing that in the postseason is where you’re supposed to elevate your game, and I was just trying to catch rhythm at the time,” Westbrook said. “It’s not time for that, but I’ve just got to get back to the drawing board and make sure I get healthy.”
Westbrook is under contract through at least the 2021-22 season (he has a player option for 2022-23), so it seems highly likely that he will get at least one more opportunity in Houston alongside close friend and co-star James Harden. Both All-Star guards and recent MVPs are still searching for their first NBA title, and having both of them healthy entering the 2021 playoffs would be the optimal place to start.
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