Wizards believe Westbrook will be more explosive when he returns originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
Point guard Russell Westbrook has been recovering from a sore quadriceps muscle ever since Jan. 8, but thanks to a series of postponements for the Wizards, he has only technically missed one game due to the injury. That amounts to a small positive in what has been an unfortunate saga for Washington, as they continue to deal with an outbreak of the coronavirus on their roster.
"That’s another silver lining. We hate to miss six games. Nobody really benefits from it, but it allowed some of the guys who were beat up to get healthy," head coach Scott Brooks said.
When Westbrook went out, he was also dealing with a dislocated ring finger on his right hand. According to Brooks, that is now all healed up.
That said, when Westbrook can return is still not clear. He is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Spurs, which should be the Wizards' first game since last Monday.
"Am I playing tomorrow? I don’t know," Westbrook said after Saturday's practice.
Westbrook did say he feels good and that at this point he's just working his way into shape after the layoff. He and the Wizards are trying to be patient with the injury to make sure that when he does return, he is 100 percent healthy and not in jeopardy of a setback.
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Westbrook first suffered the injury in training camp and played through it, only to get hit in the same spot several times during games. Though he posted strong volume numbers - 19.3 points, 11.3 assists, 9.7 rebounds per game - he was shooting just 37.8 percent from the field. Part of the problem was his relative lack of burst to the rim.
Though Westbrook is second on the Wizards and 14th in the NBA in drives per game (14.4), that number is down from last season (20.8) when he led the entire league. The Wizards hope getting his quad healthy will fix that.
"That was the one thing that was preventing him was his leg. That’s why he had to do what he had to do. He wasn’t himself. He knew that and I knew that," Brooks said.
"He fought through it and that’s what he does. He plows through things that a lot of guys don’t do. A lot of guys won’t put their game on the line if they aren’t at their best because you get scrutinized."
The Wizards' goal to be patient with Westbrook could be tested by their lack of personnel, partly due to players remaining in league protocol and also because of other injuries. They are perilously thin at point guard, currently missing Ish Smith and Troy Brown Jr. due to protocol and with Raul Neto nursing a groin injury. Neto didn't practice on Saturday.
If Westbrook and Neto can't play Sunday, the Wizards will only have one natural point guard on their roster, rookie Cassius Winson, who is on a two-way contract and has only played two total NBA minutes. The Wizards may have no choice but to play a shooting guard like Bradley Beal or Jerome Robinson at the point.
It's not ideal, but the Wizards aren't going to rush Westbrook.
"I don’t know if he plays [vs. the Spurs] or not, but he’s definitely progressing in the right direction," Brooks said.
Watch the Wizards take on the San Antonio Spurs tonight at 8 p.m. on NBC Sports Washington
