HOUSTON coach Mike D’Antoni confirmed Sunday that star point guard Russell Westbrook will miss Game 1 of the Rockets’ series with the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday.
Westbrook sat out Friday’s regular-season finale after an MRI confirmed a strained right quadriceps muscle. His status for the rest of the first-round Western Conference series against his former team is murky.
“It’s not something that’s going to miraculously go away tomorrow,” D’Antoni told reporters in a Zoom call. “It’s going to be a few days.”
Veteran Eric Gordon will start in Westbrook’s place. Gordon’s primary defensive assignment will be Oklahoma City point guard Chris Paul, the player Westbrook was traded for in a blockbuster deal in July 2019.
A nine-time All-Star, Westbrook played his first 11 seasons with the Thunder.
Westbrook was late to join the NBA’s restart after he tested positive for COVID-19. He first felt soreness in his right quad on Aug. 4 after a game against the Portland Trail Blazers, sitting out the next two games as a precaution.
Westbrook, 31, averaged 27.2 points, 7.9 rebounds and 7.0 assists in 57 games during his first season with the Rockets.
Gordon, 31, averaged 14.4 points and shot a career-worst 36.9% from the field in 36 games (15 starts) this season. — Reuters
