Houston Rockets star Russell Westbrook appears to be getting close to returning from the quad injury that has held him out of the playoffs to this point.
Westbrook was expected to be a game-time decision for Game 5 against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday, but that contest was postponed as players across the NBA boycotted. The Rockets instead held an instraquad scrimmage on Thursday to get Westbrook some game-speed action, and a source told ESPN’s Tim MacMahon and Adrian Wojnarowski that the star point guard “looked as explosive as ever.”
Houston’s next scheduled game is on Friday night, but it’s unclear how the NBA’s schedule will be impacted by the six games that were postponed on Wednesday and Thursday.
Westbrook has not played since Aug. 11. He returned to a limited practice last week, but the Rockets have been playing it safe with him. There was no need to rush Westbrook back when Houston took a 2-0 series lead over the Thunder, but they may be feeling a greater sense of urgency after losing Game 3 and Game 4. The postponement of Game 5 could end up working in Westbrook’s favor.
There had previously been talk of Westbrook missing the entire Thunder series.
Westbrook averaged 27.2 points, 7.9 assists, and 7.0 rebounds per game during the regular season for Houston. The Rockets need him back to lessen the offensive load on James Harden.
