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UPDATE: Aug. 13, 7:44 p.m. — Westbrook is expected to miss at least the start of the Rockets’ first-round series against the Thunder, ESPN reported late Thursday. Here’s some more information from The Jump:
Russell Westbrook (quad) will miss at least the start of the Rockets' first-round playoff series against the Thunder - is that enough to give Chris Paul the upper hand going against the team that shocked him with a trade last summer? pic.twitter.com/LSAgh4bFaV
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) August 13, 2020
The Houston Rockets will be without guard Russell Westbrook for at least one game, and maybe more due to a quadriceps injury, according to reporter Alykhan Bijani. The team announced Westbrook had an MRI on his quad and it revealed a strained quadriceps muscle in his right leg. He will sit out Friday’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers and be reevaluated before the playoffs start next week.
Westbrook has appeared in four games since the NBA season restarted. He’s averaged 24.3 points, 7.8 assists, and 6.3 rebounds per game. The Rockets are in fourth place in the Western Conference and playing for the fourth or fifth place spot. They will likely face either the Oklahoma City Thunder or Utah Jazz in the first round of the playoffs.
The Rockets are expected to get SG Eric Gordon (ankle) back in the lineup Wednesday vs. the Pacers. James Harden is also expected to play, so the Rockets will at least have a starting-level back court against Indy. Gordon is only expected to play around 20-25 minutes, so we can roll out Austin Rivers and Ben McLemore again in DFS. They should see a lot of playing time depending on how the game plays out.