LOS ANGELES — Russell Westbrook will miss Friday’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers, his second straight game as he recovers from knee surgery, but is closing in on a return with a possible eye on Sunday’s game against the Sacramento Kings.
After going through an energetic post-shootaround workout, which included a few emphatic tomahawk dunks, Westbrook met with the Oklahoma City Thunder‘s medical staff and decided to sit against the Clippers. He has been increasing his practice workload, including being cleared for basically full contact practices and drills.
“A lot of it is him and the medical staff talking to each other and him giving feedback,” Thunder coach Billy Donovan said. “In my conversations with him, it’s always how he’s feeling the next day. And I think for him, he needs to be right because you don’t want to have something lingering. And he knows his body better than anybody else.”
Westbrook went through his full pregame routine prior to both the Warrior and Clipper games. He looked like himself physically with sharp cuts and bouncy finishes at the rim, but was a bit rusty with his jumper, particularly his patented stop-and-pop pull-up.
The Thunder are staying overnight in Los Angeles after their game against the Clippers, and won’t practice on Saturday. There is no shootaround scheduled on Sunday, only a mid-afternoon walkthrough, so a decision on Westbrook’s status likely won’t be available until near tipoff.
Westbrook underwent arthroscopic knee surgery on Sept. 12 and has been progressing toward a return the last week. He missed the Thunder’s opener against the Golden State Warriors, as offseason acquisition Dennis Schroder started in his place.