Houston Rockets star guard Russell Westbrook’s status for Wednesday’s pivotal Game 5 against the Oklahoma City Thunder was upgraded to questionable.
Westbrook has not played in the tied series against his former team due to a strained right quadriceps. He was listed as out in the league’s 11 a.m. official injury report but was upgraded early Wednesday afternoon.
Sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski that a decision would be made on Westbrook’s availability after he tests his strained quadriceps on the court before Game 5.
Westbrook went through an intense pregame workout before the Rockets’ Game 4 loss Monday and participated in most of Tuesday’s practice. Sources said he felt good when he woke up Wednesday morning and pushed to attempt to play with the series tied, 2-2.
Westbrook, who arrived late to the NBA’s Walt Disney World campus due to testing positive for COVID-19, played in only four games during the seeding schedule. His quadriceps injury was originally diagnosed as a contusion, but after Westbrook played 28 minutes in an Aug. 11 loss to the San Antonio Spurs, an MRI revealed the strain.
Westbrook, the 2016-17 MVP who spent the first 11 years of his career with the Thunder before being traded for Chris Paul and picks last summer, averaged 27.2 points, 7.9 rebounds and 7.0 assists for the Rockets during the regular season.
