Houston Rockets guard Russell Westbrook is likely to miss one game of all back-to-back sequences of games this season, head coach Mike D’Antoni said before Monday’s home game versus San Antonio.
The Rockets have 11 total back-to-backs, meaning that Westbrook would play in a maximum of 71 games in the 2019-20 season, if the team sticks to the plan. That would be Westbrook’s lowest total of games played in a regular season since playing 67 games in the 2014-15 season.
Now 31 years old and in his 12th season, the former NBA MVP had offseason knee surgery and was not a full participant in training camp and preseason activities as he continued that recovery.
Until Monday, however, the team had not indicated whether Westbrook’s absence in one game of back-to-back sequences was a permanent move or simply an early-season measure due to his recovery.
The team’s next back-to-back comes on Saturday, Dec. 28 when the Rockets host Brooklyn, followed by a Dec. 29 game at New Orleans.
Before the season, Rockets GM Daryl Morey indicated that a form of “resting when healthy” plan could be in place for Westbrook and James Harden — though Harden hasn’t missed any games yet.
Houston (17-9) has won two of the three games Westbrook has missed, but that loss was an ugly one Saturday against the Detroit Pistons (11-15) in which their starting point guard’s absence was clearly felt. In 23 games entering Monday, Westbrook had averaged 22.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 7.3 assists per game in his first season with the Rockets.
