Despite Russell Westbrook undergoing surgery on his fractured left hand, there is optimism that he will be able to return by April before the start of the playoffs.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that sources had indicated that was the hope around the Clippers, who sit in fourth in the Western Conference going into Monday night’s game against the Bucks.
Westbrook had fractured his hand during the first half of the Clippers’ win over the Wizards on Friday night at Crypto.com Arena.
Clippers guard Russell Westbrook (0) drives past Washington Wizards guard Johnny Davis (1) in the first half at Crypto.com Arena. USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con The Clippers’ sixth man was trying to poke a ball away from Jordan Poole when the injury occurred.
“I just feel bad for Russ right now,” Lue told reporters after the game on Friday. “You never want to see a player get hurt. … I don’t know if he needs surgery or anything yet, but he’s out right now, so just trying to figure it out.”
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Westbrook had made it back to the court in less than four weeks after fracturing his right hand in 2014 while still with the Thunder.
Westbrook has had significant success in LA since the Clippers traded for James Harden, which moved him to a role off the bench.
Harden had told reporters on Friday that the Clippers would miss Westbrook’s “athleticism, his energy, his playmaking ability, leadership.”
Bones Hyland and Brandon Boston Jr. will pick up the slack with Westbrook out for a period of time.
“It’s been a long time, but honestly I’m just ready to keep contributing to the team, build up these wins and carry this momentum into the thing that we all want to do,” Hyland told the Orange County Register over the weekend.
Westbrook has averaged 11.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.4 assists this season in 58 games this season.
