Rockets guard Russell Westbrook, whose arrival at the NBA’s Walt Disney World campus was delayed due to a positive COVID-19 test, is traveling to Orlando today, head coach Mike D’Antoni told reporters, including Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle.
“He’s been working, and he feels good,” D’Antoni said of the former MVP. “If you look at Russell, his worst day, he’s probably in better shape and stronger than anybody we have. I would think he’ll come here and be ready to go.”
D’Antoni expressed some skepticism that Westbrook will be ready to play on Friday when the Rockets face the Raptors in their first inter-squad scrimmage. Once the star point guard arrives at campus, he’ll have to return two negative coronavirus tests at least 24 hours apart, meaning he’s unlikely to participate in his first practice until later this week.
With the Rockets assured of a playoff spot, the club will likely focus on getting Westbrook back to full speed in time for the start of the postseason.
Meanwhile, D’Antoni added today that he’s unsure when recently-signed forward Luc Mbah a Moute will be able to join the club at Disney. However, a source tells Feigen (Twitter link) that it should happen “soon.”
Good news
Harden and Westbrook won’t have COVID next 3 months
Should other superstars guard them?
Ask the doctors please
It will be interesting to see who the Lakers use to guard them after losing their best perimeter defender.
Lakers are in trouble unless JR and Waiters are gold
Danny Green and KCP To start the game？
It will be intresting to see who on the small ball Rockets can stop Lebron and AD.
P.J. Tucker and Covington are both excellent defenders.
I think Rockets have 60% chance to beat Lakers unless Waiters is a gold
That sounds about right, assuming they meet during the playoffs. It’s still possible that the Rockets could end up as high as the #3 seed and the winner of the 4/5 matchup in round one could conceivably knock out the Lakers in round two.
Silver would be adequate, maybe bronze, if the bar is Avery Bradley and a slowed-down Rondo. The Lakers are better team now for a short run at least, as measured by on/off… and the Lakers were better before.
Bradley was waived by Memphis last year, and he is so crucial?
Losing just Bradley, who was one of the Lakers best defenders, isn’t crucial on its own. But losing Rondo as well severely weakens their backcourt. Even if he returns by late August, he will hardly be ready to step in right away and lead the 2nd unit effectively while LBJ is on the bench. The Lakers are going to look like a completely different team any time he goes to the bench to rest. Look for him to play a ton of minutes during the playoffs, I won’t be surprised to see LeBron completely exhausted before the end of the second round.
Keep dreaming. LA is too big for Rockets. AD will avg 50. Bron can rest thru whole Rockets series. Playoffs are not the season. No one is fooling anyone. Rondo and Bradley are solid bench guys. JR and Waiters can give them solid mins. Only way this is competitive is if Westbrook n Garden avg 35. Cause Harden will give up 30. And getting third seed means Clippers. Health is biggest issue. Seems like most teams are healthy. Only wild card I see is Denver n Sixers. Sixers could sneak into East finals. It’s gonna be Clippers n Bucks
There is almost zero chance the Sixers will make the ECF. They won’t get past Milwaukee, Toronto, Boston, or Miami in order to get there. The Rockets chances are far better than Philly or Denver, wait and see.
AD won’t average 30, let alone 50, against Houston.
I think the Rockets could keep the series competitive for the first couple of games, but would wear out over time. Tucker and Covington are capable defenders, but there’s nobody behind them to take over. They’re each going to be playing 40 minutes/night and without as many days off, will begin to tire out.
Sure, the Lakers don’t have Bradley, but a deeper dive into his statistics indicate he simply hasn’t been all that valuable. Danny Green can still guard one of Westbrook or Harden as he demonstrated during Toronto’s postseason run. Losing Rondo sucks a bit, but remember that LeBron can still handle the ball. Furthermore, the Lakers can preserve James and Davis with their depth by plugging in McGee and Howard for 15-20 minutes/game. Finally, the Rockets attack just seems too sporadic to consistently win in the postseason. If Harden goes cold, the Rockets may have some difficulty attaining a victory.
I don’t think Houston will lose without a good fight, but I certainly wouldn’t consider them favorites
They have DeMarre Carroll and Jeff Green, and House can also play the four. Neither Tucker nor Covington are going to have to play 40 minutes per game the same way that LeBron and AD will be.
Davis, LeBron, and Tucker each average 34 minutes/game, so I don’t understand where you’re getting those numbers from. House will be needed at small forward when Gordon needs a break. Green is a pitiful defender at this stage of his career and Carroll couldn’t even crack the Spurs’ rotation.
It appears your bias is showing a bit. You seem to be exaggerating the Lakers’ weaknesses while expecting the best-case scenario for the Rockets. An upset would certainly be cool, but you’re only setting yourself up for a major disappointment