The availability of Houston Rockets save Russell Westbrook for the start of the NBA playoffs is uncertain, after an MRI revealed a strained muscle in his right quadriceps, the team announced Wednesday.
Westbrook will not play in the rest of the seeding schedule and will be re-evaluated before the playoffs begin next week.
The team had planned for Westbrook to sit out the game against the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday to rest, but he is now also ruled out of Friday’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Westbrook, who was a late arrival on the NBA’s Walt Disney World campus because he tested positive for COVID-19, first felt soreness in his right quadriceps after the Rockets’ loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on August 4th. He sat out the next of two games due to a straight quad contusion, according to the team.
He played 28 minutes in Houston’s loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday, recording 20 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists.
Westbrook, a nine-time All-Star acquired in a blockbuster deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder last summer, averaged 27.2 points, 7.9 rebounds and 7.0 assists per game in his first season with the Rockets.
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