Houston Rockets: Will Russell Westbrook’s injury trigger the end of an era?
Russell Westbrook’s injury could spell big changes for Houston Rockets
Despite the concerns, the duo of Russell Westbrook and James Harden was actually particularly good for the Houston Rockets. The Rockets were in the running for the third seed in the Western Conference for much of the regular season, but couldn’t overtake the Denver Nuggets in the NBA’s restart bubble.
Nevertheless, with two of the top 10 players in the Western Conference, the Rockets were going to have a puncher’s chance against any team in the West in a seven-game series. However, with news that Westbrook will miss the first few games, at least, in the Rockets’ first-round playoff series against the Oklahoma City Thunder, it throws a major wrench in the team’s immediate future.
"[via ESPN]"
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"Rockets star guard Russell Westbrook is expected to miss at least the start of Houston’s first-round playoff series because of a strained right quad muscle, sources confirmed to ESPN."
Westbrook has missed 12 games this season in which the Rockets have gone 6-6. When he’s not healthy for the Rockets, what the team would miss most is his scoring, and his ability to take over a game at any given moment. Surely, in the postseason, with defenses focused on Harden, that is an element that the Rockets will miss dearly.
Especially against a team like the Thunder, the Rockets will need a second option to offset the offensive prowess of its opponent. The big question, of course, is whether Harden will be able to hold off the Thunder during the first few games (however long that means) of their first-round series, assuming Westbrook could return for a potential Game 3 or 4.
Interestingly enough, during the restart, the Rockets were a middle-of-the-pack (13th ranked Offensive Rating) offensive team. That is problematic considering they’re going to be losing roughly 27 points per game. The only sliver of good news is that Eric Gordon returned from injury Wednesday night in one of Houston’s final seeding games ahead of the start of the playoffs.
However, he was on a minutes restriction and there’s no guarantee that he’ll be off that when the playoffs officially begin. With Westbrook out, the Rockets are likely going to need Gordon to step up not only from an offensive standpoint but also in terms of filling up the minutes’ log.
The Rockets don’t have plenty of depth in the backcourt and will need to fill out the near 30 points per game that they’ll be missing in the lineup.
On the surface, the loss doesn’t look great. And it couldn’t have come at a worse time. The fallout? This injury could spark the end of an era in Houston.
Big changes for the Houston Rockets in the offseason?
Should the Rockets lose their first-round series to the Thunder, not only would it add questions to this team’s already blurry immediate future but it would open the door for drastic changes during the offseason.
The Rockets are likely already going to move on from Mike D’Antoni after this season, no matter how it ends. Will a head-coaching change also include a potential roster shakeup too? It very well could, especially after what we saw the Rockets do last summer.
After losing in the Western Conference Finals two years ago and then in the Conference Semifinals last season, the Rockets losing in the first round this season would indicate that this franchise is headed in the wrong direction. There’s really no disputing that at this point.
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Injury or not, the Houston Rockets would be foolish to bring back the exact same team in the event they lose in the first round. Russell Westbrook’s injury is unfortunate and at the same time could open the door for a big change for the franchise.