Russell Westbrook Hopeful He'll Play in Game 3 vs. Sixers

The Wizards took a crushing blow Wednesday night against the Sixers. Not only did they suffer a 120-95 loss, going down 0-2 in the series, and lost a key player to injury. 

After rolling his ankle twice in the second half in game two, Russell Westbrook left the game with an ankle injury. He logged only 29 minutes, scoring 10 points in that span. 

Although he was forced to exit game two early, the former MVP is hopeful that he can continue playing. When asked if he will play in game three, Westbrook responded by saying "we'll see what happens." 

"Get treatment and hopefully it'll be better," Westbrook said postgame on Wednesday. With the way the Wizards rely heavily on their starting backcourt, losing Westbrook puts them at an even greater disadvantage. 

Westbrook was one of the driving forces for the Wizards making the playoffs, but he has struggled so far against the Sixers. Through two games, he is averaging 13.5 PPG on 33.3% shooting from the floor. Both of those numbers are playoff career-lows for the All-Star guard. 

Neutralizing the Wizards' guard was the main point of emphasis for the Sixers heading into this series. They have made life hard for Bradley Beal, but they have made Westbrook almost a non-factor through two games. 

Forcing the Wizards to play in the half-court has impacted Westbrook immensely, resulting in him settling for contested mid-range jumpers that he has struggled to make. Westbrook has only made nine of his 27 field goal attempts thus far and has yet to make a shot from beyond the arc. 

These teams square off in Washington on Saturday for game three. With Westbrook's status up in the air, things are not looking good for the Wizards as they try to prevent going down 3-0 in the series. 

Kevin McCormick covers the Philadelphia 76ers for South Jersey's 97.3 ESPN and Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @KevinMcCNBA.