OKC Thunder: Rockets coach D’Antoni confirms Westbrook out for Game 1

The OKC Thunder and Rockets updated player status Sunday, with Mike D’Antoni confirming Russell Westbrook will not play in Game 1.

With Tuesday, August 18th looming as the first game in the OKC Thunder and Houston Rockets series the coaches each met with media on Sunday.

At the top of the questions pressing for the media was the status of players and their health. For the Houston Rockets, the biggest concern is former Thunder superstar Russell Westbrook.

As T.I. noted recently, beat writer for the Houston Chronicle Jonathan Feigen reported the Brodie was out for game 1 and potentially ‘a few’ games due to a strained quadriceps muscle.

Westbrook underwent an MRI to confirm the injury

D’Antoni confirms Westbrook out Game 1

That information was once again confirmed by Houston Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni on Sunday.

The issue with a quad injury is it’s the muscle and that’s almost the worst injury Westbrook could have. Because Russ’ game is predicated on him pushing off his leg to accelerate, the power to dunk and using his legs to shoot. That’s why rest is so imperative for the star and the need to exercise patience since an expedited return could result in him injuring the quad worse.

Mark Berman of Fox 26 Sports tweeted that Mike D’Antoni officially confirmed Westbrook’s absence ‘at least’ for game 1 stating ‘It’s gonna be a few days… It’s not something that’s gonna miraculously go away tomorrow’. 

That sounds rather ominous and certainly not overly optimistic for a speedy return. With Russ out the Rockets aren’t barren at guard — remember this is a small ball team who has James Harden who is used to running the show.

Berman also tweeted that D’Antoni will replace Westbrook with Eric Gordon in the starting rotation. Gordon just returned himself from a two-week injury absence after he twisted his ankle in the scrimmages.

In addition to Gordon and Harden, the Rockets can utilize Austin Rivers (who recently posted a career-best scoring night), Ben McLemore, and the seldom-used Chris Clemons.

More from Thunderous Intentions

• Stealing one player from every Southwest Division team for the OKC Thunder
• Should the OKC Thunder chase after a disgruntled hometown hero?
• 3 OKC Thunder players who can step up in Aleksej Pokusevski’s absence
• Aleksej Pokusevski sidelined approximately 6 weeks with ankle injury
• Damian Lillard does not fit with the OKC Thunder

Westbrook played in the Rockets first three seeding games against the Mavericks, Bucks, Blazers. He sat out the next two games versus the Lakers and Kings. Russ returned to play 27:30 against the Spurs but was shut down again for the last two matches against the Pacers and 76ers.

Although the Rockets will still be a tough out without the former Thunder star his presence completely changes their dynamic on the court. This season he sat out 15 games and the Rockets won eight of those.

Although we want the Thunder to win, it’s hard to see Westbrook sidelined after following him his entire career. At the same time, let’s hope he doesn’t come back sooner than he should because we want him to be safe.

As noted earlier, the OKC Thunder are also unsure of Luguentz Dort’s availability after he sustained a sprained knee in the match versus Miami. T.I. waited for the Houston presser to be loaded on the NBA site but as of this posting it still hadn’t gone up. When it does we’ll update this article with the direct link.