Rockets guard Russell Westbrook is doubtful to play in Tuesday night’s home game versus the Charlotte Hornets due to a left thumb injury, Houston coach Mike D’Antoni said at Monday’s practice.
The injury occurred during Sunday’s victory over New Orleans, and Westbrook’s thumb was heavily bandaged after the game. The former MVP didn’t specify when in the game that it happened, only noting that someone swiped at the basketball and instead got his hand.
Westbrook played through the injury against the Pelicans and scored 22 points, but the newly crowned All-Star wasn’t as efficient as he was for much of his torrid January. It was just the second time in the last 11 games that Westbrook failed to score 30 points, and at 9-of-24 from the field (37.5%), it was his least efficient shooting game, as well.
One bit of potential good news for the right-handed Westbrook is that the injury was to the thumb on his left, non-shooting hand. Westbrook struggled to shoot early in the season after dislocating multiple fingers in the preseason, but those issues were to his dominant hand.
It’s unclear if Westbrook is expected to miss more games beyond Tuesday, but it’s worth noting that Houston’s next game (on Thursday) is on the front end of a back-to-back. Westbrook typically sits out one game of all back-to-backs for planned maintenance after offseason knee surgery, so it’s possible he was already scheduled to miss that game.
The Rockets (31-18) play Thursday in Los Angeles against the Lakers (37-11), followed by Friday night in Phoenix versus the Suns (20-29). Fellow guard Austin Rivers recently missed two games with a thumb sprain, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if Westbrook has a similar timetable.
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