» Russell Westbrook ruled out for Game 5.
Rockets guard Russell Westbrook’s return from his strained quadriceps muscle moved closer on Tuesday, but with the series against the Oklahoma City Thunder tied 2-2, Westbrook was still ruled out.
Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni earlier offered his most optimistic assessment of the potential of Westbrook playing since he was ruled out for the final seeding game and missed each of the four playoff games so far.
“I think it’s day to day he’s listed,” D’Antoni said. “Not going to rule anything out or anything in. We’ll see.”
D’Antoni said there is nothing he needs to see to determine if Westbrook is ready to play, deferring to the Rockets’ medical staff and Westbrook himself to determine if he is ready to play.
“As soon as they tell me he can go and he feels like he can, then he’ll go,” D’Antoni said. “He’ll work out today, he’ll get on the court and see how he feels and they’ll make a determination. It’s close. We want to be a little careful. At the same time, we understand the urgency. They’ll make a good call on him and he’ll do the same.”
Westbrook played in just four of the seeding games but just one in the last four games before the start of the postseason. He sat out two games when the injury was deemed a bruised quad. He played 27½ minutes against the San Antonio Spurs on Aug. 11, scoring 20 points on 8-of-17 shooting.
Acquired from the Thunder in exchange for Chris Paul and draft picks, Westbrook averaged 30 points on 50.2 percent shooting in his final 38 games after averaging 21.7 points on 39.9 percent shooting in his first 19 games with the Rockets.
Though he has played in just four games since March 10 and arrived on the NBA’s Florida campus late because of a case of COVID-19, the Rockets did expect that when Westbrook returns, he would in many ways provide much of his customary force and energy.
“Russ only has one level,” Rockets center P.J. Tucker said. “Russ got one speed. Russ got one mind, one energy (level.) If you get Russ, you get Russ. I think that’s a part of him taking his time to get back because he knows and we know the level he’s going to be at when he comes back.
“We know what he brings. He’s a big part of what we do. And with him in the game, it changes the game instantly. So, we’re looking forward to him coming back, hopefully soon. I’ve seen him working really hard. I’ve seen him every day get better, treatment, on the court, in the weight room, everything every day.”