Russell Westbrook might be again within the Los Angeles Clippers‘ lineup precisely three weeks after having surgical procedure on his fractured left hand. Westbrook, who suffered the harm throughout a sport on March 1 and underwent surgical procedure three days later, is ready to return subsequent week, presumably as quickly as subsequent Monday’s sport in opposition to the Indiana Pacers in Los Angeles, based on ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Westbrook will return to a Clippers workforce that has been alarmingly common for the higher a part of two months. After going 31-8 with one of the best offense within the NBA (and an above-average protection) from Nov. 17 till Feb. 5, they’ve gone 9-10 since, with a bottom-six protection (and an offense squarely in the course of the pack).
On Feb. 6, the Clippers had one of the best file within the Western Convention. Now they’re in fourth place, 5 video games out of first and three video games within the loss column behind the third-place Minnesota Timberwolves, with the New Orleans Pelicans on their heels. Westbrook’s harm befell midway via this slide, and Los Angeles has to hope that he’ll give them a lift off the bench when he returns.
Main as much as the harm, although, Westbrook’s manufacturing was one of many causes for the Clippers’ struggles. In his 9 most up-to-date video games, together with the 10-minute look during which he broke his hand, Westbrook shot a mixed 31-for-88 (35.2%), together with 4- for-24 from 3-point vary (16.7%), with per-36-minute averages of 15.1 factors, 4.9 assists and 4.2 rebounds. (Within the 49 video games previous to that, Westbrook shot 47% from the sphere and 28.9% from 3-point vary, with per-36-minute averages of 18 factors, 7.4 assists and eight.7 rebounds.)
Ideally, the Clippers, who’ve additionally been with out Sixth Man of the 12 months candidate Norman Powell for the final couple of video games, will head into the playoffs with a wholesome and useful model of Westbrook. At his greatest, he modifies video games by pushing the tempo after defensive stops, leaping passing lanes, crashing the offensive glass and usually offering his model of vitality and depth. And at their greatest, the Clippers are a real title contender, with three stars, depth at each place and tons of lineup versatility. The query is whether or not or not he — and so they — can discover their kind within the subsequent few weeks.
If Westbrook would not swimsuit up in opposition to the Pacers, he’ll presumably make his return on the four-game street journey that may observe. Los Angeles will go to Philadelphia subsequent Wednesday, then go to Orlando, Charlotte and Sacramento.