Houston Rockets guard Russell Westbrook‘s availability for the beginning 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 reevaluated before the playoffs begin next week.
The team had planned for Westbrook to sit out Wednesday’s game against the Indiana Pacers to rest, but he has now been ruled out of Friday’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers as well.
Westbrook, who was a late arrival to 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 Aug. 4. He sat out the next two games due to a right 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 trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder last summer, has averaged 27.2 points, 7.9 rebounds and 7.0 assists per game in his first season with the Rockets.
