Mike D'Antoni: 'Nobody knows' when Russell Westbrook will return after quad injury
Houston Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni doesn’t know when Russell Westbrook will rejoin the team while dealing with a strained quadricep.
In fact, “nobody knows.”
“I don’t know how long it’s going to take, and if it’s going to take a little bit,” D’Antoni said Tuesday, via USA Today. “He’s been working hard and is feeling better everyday. The images are looking better, but I think it’s too early to say how many days he’s out. Nobody knows.”
Westbrook ‘feels a lot better’ after MRI
Westbrook first hurt his quad in the third game of the NBA restart, though he returned a week later. After playing 28 minutes in his return, Westbrook felt sore the next day. An MRI then found the strain in his quad, and he hasn’t returned since. He’s averaged 27.2 points and 7.9 rebounds per game this season with the Rockets, his first with the team after spending his first 11 NBA seasons with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The 31-year-old underwent an MRI on Tuesday, D’Antoni said, and “feels a lot better.” He’s done some conditioning drills and exercises and is attending team practices, too.
Whether he’ll be ready for Game 2 of their opening-round playoff series against the Thunder on Thursday — or the rest of the series, for that matter — remains to be seen.
“Just keep strengthening it and he’ll go a little bit on how he feels,” D’Antoni said, via USA Today. “I’m sure the next step will be on the court at some point. I don’t want to be negative. Nobody knows if it’s just two days, four or five days. Nobody knows yet. The thigh will tell him that, but he is progressing.”
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