All-Star guard Russell Westbrook is listed on the official Houston Rockets injury report as questionable to play in Thursday’s marquee game against the Los Angeles Lakers due to a bruised right quad.
It’s unclear when Westbrook suffered the injury, but it might help explain his subpar showing in Tuesday’s loss versus Portland.
After scoring a team-high 31 points (on 47.6% shooting) in Sunday’s statement victory over Milwaukee, Westbrook was limited to 15 points on 5-of-14 shooting (35.7%) versus Portland.
With fellow guard Eric Gordon already out due to a sprained left ankle, the Rockets would be quite thin in the backcourt for Thursday’s big game if the former MVP isn’t able to play.
It’s a delicate balance for head coach Mike D’Antoni and the Rockets, who entered Wednesday tied in the loss column with Utah (42-25) and Oklahoma City (41-25) in the close race for playoff seeding in the Western Conference. Yet, with the start of the playoffs less than two weeks away, they also have every incentive to be careful with any injuries.
Rockets guard Russell Westbrook is listed as questionable to play against the Lakers with a bruised right quad.
— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) August 5, 2020
Neither D’Antoni nor Westbrook mentioned the injury in Tuesday’s postgame comments, and D’Antoni also did not cite it before Wednesday’s practice. Westbrook was not scheduled for an interview.
Now 31 years old, Westbrook is averaging 27.4 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 7.1 assists in 36.1 minutes per game in his debut season in Houston. A nine-time NBA All-Star, he’s shooting a career-high 47.2% from the field with the smaller Rockets — whose unconventional style has helped open up more opportunities for Westbrook to attack the rim.
Thursday’s tip-off between the Rockets (42-25) and Lakers (51-15) is set for 8:00 p.m. Central, with a national broadcast on TNT and a regional telecast (with Houston announcers) on AT&T SportsNet Southwest. With the Lakers having already clinched the West’s No. 1 seed, it was not yet clear on Wednesday whether they planned to play all of their key players.
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