Although the Houston Rockets have been without Russell Westbrook, they haven’t had much problem dealing with the Thunder.
Houston will carry a 2-0 series lead into Saturday’s Game 3 after pulling away during the opening half of the fourth quarter of Thursday’s Game 2.
Unfortunately for the Rockets, Westbrook doesn’t seem any closer to returning, despite the fact that the franchise was said to be optimistic about his chances to return to the court in time to participate in Game 3.
The quad injury that the former MVP is currently nursing has caused him to miss Houston’s last two games of the regular season, as well as their first two playoff games. Even without him, though, Houston hasn’t had much of a problem taming Billy Donovan’s team.
Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said Russell Westbrook will do some running and shooting today at practice. No contact yet. D’Antoni on Westbrook for Game 3: “he’s probably out.” Rockets will determine officially by 5:30 pm ET when they have to report injuries to the league
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) August 21, 2020
Heading into Saturday’s Game 3, the Thunder will be hoping to see Lu Dort continue to play effective defense on James Harden, as well as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continue to be efficient and aggressive on the offense end. The rookie-sophomore combination gave the Thunder something to believe in during their bright spots in Game 2.
The question now is whether the team has the ability to rebound and avoid the dubious distinction of falling into the 0-3 series hole from which no NBA team has ever victoriously emerged.
Game 3 will tip off at 5:00 p.m. CT on Saturday.
