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BREAKING: Russell Westbrook has a torn meniscus in his right knee

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by RoxTurk, Apr 26, 2013.

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YoungGods Member

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It would be funny coincidence if we won the Western conference and Knicks won the Eastern conference and we beat the Knicks again to become the champion.

#501 YoungGods, Apr 26, 2013

YoungGods Member

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AustinPowers said: ↑

why yes.
Nothing wrong with a little bit of man boobs.
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LOL I know a perfect spot for you above 59 in Montrose.:grin:

#502 YoungGods, Apr 26, 2013
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http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/9215317/nba-russell-westbrook-injury-faq

Russell Westbrook injury FAQ

The Western Conference playoffs were turned upside down Friday by the Oklahoma City Thunder's announcement that star guard Russell Westbrook tore the lateral meniscus in his right knee during a collision with Patrick Beverley of the Houston Rockets in Game 2 of the teams' series. Now Westbrook, who has never missed a game due to injury in his college or pro career, will undergo arthroscopic knee surgery in the midst of the Thunder's playoff run.

Let's take a look at how long Westbrook and Oklahoma City can expect him to miss and how the team will replace him during the interim, FAQ style.

How long will Westbrook be out?

Meniscus injuries are tricky to predict because rehabilitation tends to depend on multiple factors, including the size of the tear in the cartilage, its location and how the player's knee responds to surgery. The typical timetable for arthroscopic surgery is 4-6 weeks, which would put Westbrook back somewhere between Memorial Day weekend and the second weekend of June. In playoff terms, that ranges from midway through the conference finals to early in the NBA Finals.

It's possible that Westbrook could get back faster. The most recent example of a rapid return to the court is Metta World Peace of the Los Angeles Lakers, who underwent arthroscopic surgery March 28 and played April 9 -- 12 days later. (The fastest return in recent memory was Brandon Roy playing in the playoffs eight days after surgery, albeit with his knees already in such bad shape there was little chance of reinjury.)

At the same time, arthroscopic surgery often keeps players out longer than six weeks. A conservative timetable would mean the end of Westbrook's postseason even if the Thunder reach the NBA Finals without him. Given his importance to the franchise and his age, Oklahoma City may not want to push Westbrook's rehabilitation if it means risking his health.

How do the Thunder replace Westbrook?

Oklahoma City will need Reggie Jackson to be "Mr. May." Westbrook's backup has shown dramatic improvement during his second season, improving his PER from 9.2 to 14.3. However, nothing he's done in his NBA career has prepared Jackson for this assignment. Because Westbrook has been so durable, Jackson has never started a game and has played more than 30 minutes just once -- the Thunder's season finale.

Jackson's likely promotion to the starting lineup would also change the role of veteran Derek Fisher, who becomes his backup at point guard. Experience isn't the issue for Fisher, who is trying to win his sixth NBA championship, but since re-signing with Oklahoma City in February he has almost exclusively played alongside Jackson as a spot-up shooter. Fisher has played just 11 minutes all season without either Jackson or Westbrook on the floor. Besides demanding more of him on offense, playing Fisher at point guard also means having him defend speedier players -- a major issue at this point in his career.

The ripple effect also means that the Thunder will have to fill more minutes at shooting guard instead of using lineups with Westbrook and Jackson (or Fisher) together. Ronnie Brewer, who played just 142 minutes with Oklahoma City after a deadline trade, could be a candidate to join the rotation.

How far can the Thunder go without Westbrook?

Here's the real question. It's tough to say what Oklahoma City will be like without Westbrook because we've never seen this before. Continuity has been one of the Thunder's greatest strengths. The team's starting lineup played more minutes together (1,307) than any other lineup in the league, per NBA.com/Stats. By contrast, Oklahoma City's likely new starting five with Jackson played a total of 19 minutes together all regular season.

The encouraging stat for Thunder fans is that the team was slightly better during the regular season with Kevin Durant alone on the court than with both stars. The improvement is fluky, but Durant's ability to pick up his scoring load will help make up for Westbrook's absence. According to NBA.com/Stats, Durant increased his scoring per 36 minutes from 25.7 to 29.4 when Westbrook sat while also improving his efficiency; his true shooting percentage went from .640 to .680.

Naturally, Oklahoma City struggled when both stars were out. So expect Scott Brooks to rely heavily on Durant in coming games. In the last two postseasons, Durant has averaged 42.5 and 41.9 minutes per game, and those numbers might qualify as the under going forward.

The Thunder still should have more than enough talent to dispatch of the Rockets, especially with a 2-0 head start in the series. The level of competition will go up quickly in Round 2 against either the Los Angeles Clippers or the Memphis Grizzlies. While the Grizzlies previously looked like the worse matchup from Oklahoma City's perspective, now the Thunder may not want to see the Clippers tandem of Chris Paul and Eric Bledsoe against their backup point guards.

Thanks to home-court advantage, Oklahoma City still might be a slight favorite in the next round without Westbrook. It's difficult to see the Thunder beating the San Antonio Spurs, or even the Denver Nuggets, in the conference finals at less than full strength, though. The absence of Westbrook would rob Oklahoma City of one of its biggest athletic advantages over the Spurs in particular.

That sets the timetable. The Thunder will need Westbrook back at the early edge of a 4-to-6 week rehabilitation schedule and will have to do their part in the interim to ensure there's a playoff run waiting when he returns.
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#503 J.R., Apr 26, 2013
arjun Member

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YoungGods said: ↑

It would be funny coincidence if we won the Western conference and Knicks won the Eastern conference and we beat the Knicks again to become the champion.
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right and we are just giong to walk our way over the clippers if we somehow do advance the first round?

#504 arjun, Apr 26, 2013
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worst part about this injury is that the thunder were the only team that could beat the Heat. .

I hate to see injuries.. even to players i dont like.. unless that player is Karl Malone..

#505 SunsRocketsfan, Apr 26, 2013
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The good news: all the twitter threats are written for Patrick Beverly not Patrick BeverlEy, so he won't see them. :grin:

The bad news: People are stupid ( i hope he's kidding):

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Omg Patrick Beverly knew exactly where Russell's meniscus was aligned. He had the right angle on the collision. That play was dirty</p>— Ronnie Norman (@RonStoppables) <a href="https://twitter.com/RonStoppables/status/327870999360053248">April 26, 2013</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

#506 RV6, Apr 26, 2013
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arjun said: ↑

right and we are just giong to walk our way over the clippers if we somehow do advance the first round?
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No, we'll 'clip' our way to the Championship.

#507 AustinPowers, Apr 26, 2013

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Xsatyr said: ↑

4 out of 5?
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2 games down, leaving 5 games of 7 left. You need 4 wins to advance. 4/5.

#508 HOUSTONJS, Apr 26, 2013
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HOUSTONJS said: ↑

2 games down, leaving 5 games of 7 left. You need 4 wins to advance. 4/5.
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I already corrected myself, but thx.

#509 Xsatyr, Apr 26, 2013
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SunsRocketsfan said: ↑

worst part about this injury is that the thunder were the only team that could beat the Heat. .

I hate to see injuries.. even to players i dont like.. unless that player is Karl Malone..
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agreed. this is the main reason i wanted to play SA in the first round. i didnt want to get eliminated, but at the same time i want to root for the rockets to win. but i dont want a cheap win to get to the next round and then get swept in the 2nd round.

realistically speaking its impossible for us to win a ring this year. we'er just happy to be in the playoffs.

#510 iJHolmes, Apr 26, 2013
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It's unfortunate for a player to get hurt. If OKC fans are reading this... don't be bitter. Stuff happens. Remember when Manu undercut AB? He was never the same after. AB was having an incredible run up until this injury.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYDVDcJ4jQM

#511 laneh, Apr 26, 2013
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Sorry he got hurt. Not sorry he's out for the series.

Go Baby Rockets....grab that pacifier and crawl across the floor !

Roll Red Roll....so glad I got my wife her birthday wish...Houston Rockets victory tickets to game 3 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

#512 jscmedia, Apr 26, 2013
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The other big factor for the Rockets that I haven't seen mentioned much is that if Lin can't go, and Brooks has to play a lot of minutes, it's not as big a problem defensively.

#513 morpheus133, Apr 26, 2013

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Someone's probably already said this in the previous 25 pages, but all this means is MORE KEVIN DURANT... and Reggie Jackson is no scrub - he's at least as good as PB, if not better. Hate to see the injury, but hope Houston can take advantage of it since it happened.

#514 el gnomo, Apr 26, 2013
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AustinPowers said: ↑

No, we'll 'clip' our way to the Championship.

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We're not talking about the L A Slippers here are we? That team that is going to blow it ? Did not look title ready last night for sure ! Maybe not even second round ready !

#515 jscmedia, Apr 26, 2013
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el gnomo said: ↑

Someone's probably already said this in the previous 25 pages, but all this means is MORE KEVIN DURANT... and Reggie Jackson is no scrub - he's at least as good as PB, if not better. Hate to see the injury, but hope Houston can take advantage of it since it happened.
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I am not worried about more KD, he can't replace KD + WB. However, I am more worried about refs, and our big men getting intimated by Perkins and Ibaka.

#516 real_egal, Apr 26, 2013
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real_egal said: ↑

I am not worried about more KD, he can't replace KD + WB. However, I am more worried about refs, and our big men getting intimated by Perkins and Ibaka.
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I think anyone would be scared of getting "intimated" with Perkins and Ibaka

#517 TreeRollins, Apr 26, 2013
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I'm sorry to hear this news. I was hoping to beat them at full strength.

#518 don grahamleone, Apr 26, 2013

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Wow I know he gets a lot of hate, but sad to see that happen.

#519 Rockets12, Apr 26, 2013
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Serves the team as a whole right for what Perkins did to Parsons. Kharma has a way of sorting things out.

#520 dachuda86, Apr 26, 2013

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