The availability of Houston Rockets guard 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 remainder of the seeding schedule and will be re-evaluated before the playoffs begin next week.
The team had scheduled Westbrook to retire from Wednesday’s game against the Indiana Pacers to rest, but has now also been excluded from Friday’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Westbrook, who arrived late at the NBA’s Walt Disney World campus because he tested positive for COVID-19, first felt pain in his right quadriceps after the Rockets’ defeat to the Portland Trail Blazers on August 4. two games for right quad bruise, according to the team.
He played 28 minutes in the Houston defeat to the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday, scoring 20 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists.
Westbrook, a nine-time All-Star acquired in a successful trade 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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