[ad_1]
Russell Westbrook is ready to roll when the Houston Rockets enter Game 5 of their NBA playoff series against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday.
Thunder and Rockets are tied 2-2 in the best-of-seven series.
The game will be played 72 hours after the originally scheduled kickoff on Wednesday, when the NBA collectively boycotted the playoffs to draw attention to issues of social justice and racial inequality.
7:40
Leading those conversations was Thunder guard Chris Paul, who was traded from the Rockets for Westbrook prior to the start of the 2019-20 season.
The two met behind closed doors Wednesday and decided not to play Game 5, following the lead of the Milwaukee Bucks. The Bucks decided to skip their own Game 5 against the Orlando Magic on Wednesday to draw attention to the team’s call for justice in the Jacob Blake shooting in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Westbrook (tight quads) was upgraded to questionable Wednesday afternoon after a positive workout in the morning. He has played in a single game since August 4. But the extra days off during the boycott have Westbrook ready to roll.
Befitting the mood for the week, Westbrook wanted to focus more on the bigger picture of what has transpired, not on his return to the Rockets’ lineup that needs his unique contributions.
1:03
“I’m excited to play, but I’m more excited that we’re playing for a cause, playing that we agree to so we can make sure there’s action,” Westbrook said. “For guys like me and I’m sure the guys in the league, we play and we have our names on the back of our jerseys and we have our messages on the back of our jerseys and that means something. It’s not just something that We put ourselves there to have fun, to have fun and laugh. In fact, it means something.
The Thunder and Rockets practiced Friday afternoon, and the reviews were very positive for Westbrook. He missed the first four games of the series with a quadriceps injury. On Friday, he was “his explosive self,” according to observers.
Game Preview 5
Chris Paul cheers on Thunder teammate Dennis Schroder
Paul and Dennis Schroder are two of the main reasons behind the Thunder’s surprising run to the playoffs this season. Their struggles were a big part of why the Thunder fell 2-0 behind the Rockets in the series and now their resurgence is a major factor in how OKC has tied the series going into Game 5.
Houston has relied heavily on a small lineup since the February trade deadline, making up for what they lost in rim protection by relentlessly shifting and wearing down opponents on the perimeter.
2:01
That’s what the Rockets did in the first two games of the series. But in overtime in Game 3 and in the closing minutes of Game 4, Donovan drew center Steven Adams and left with a lineup in which Danilo Gallinari, the Thunder’s best three-point shooter in the Thunder, was his best man. on the floor.
“I think it all comes down to our space,” Donovan said after Monday’s 117-114 win. “At the beginning of this series, our spacing was not great, and it allowed his physique and length to really turn things off.”
In the first two games of the series, Schroder and Paul combined to average 26.5 points and 39.7 percent shooting from the field. In the last two games, the two guards have combined to average 55.5 points and shoot 52.6 percent.
Schroder, who missed six seeded games due to the birth of his son before returning for the final, has scored 29 and 30 in the last two games.
2:52
“It always causes problems,” Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said. “He’s a good player. He’s smart.”
Twice in the series, the Rockets have set a playoff record for most three-point attempts, shooting 58 from behind the arc in Monday’s loss to break the record they set with 56 attempts in Game 2.
“A lot of them were good shots,” said James Harden of Houston. “Those are shots that we normally take. Maybe there were some that we could have played from the catch and had a better shot. But I think for the most part we made some pretty good shots in terms of catch and shoot.”
However, without Westbrook to help create room for shooters, Houston has at times had trouble converting from a distance.
2:22
After scoring 6 of 13 from behind the arc in the first game, Harden is just 11 of 39 from behind the three-point line in the last three games.
Much of that has been the defense of Oklahoma City rookie Luguentz Dort. “Lu is special,” Paul said of Dort, who kept Harden under control in the final quarter of Game 4 despite playing most of the quarter with five fouls. “Amazing how he accepts the challenge.”
Want to see even more of the NBA but don’t have Sky Sports? Get the Sky Sports Action and Arena package, click here.
[ad_2]
