Russell Westbrook to Play vs. Spurs, James Harden, Eric Gordon to Sit

Rockets guard Russell Westbrook will return to the lineup against San Antonio on Tuesday, head coach Mike D’Antoni announced.

Westbrook sat out Houston’s win over Sacramento on Sunday due to a bruised left knee. He is expected to miss Wednesday’s matchup with the Pacers as a precautionary measure. Westbrook sat out at least one leg of Rockets’ back-to-backs throughout the 2019-20 season.

The Rockets still won’t be at full strength on Tuesday despite Westbrook’s return to the lineup. James Harden will sit out the first leg of Houston’s back-to-back before taking the floor on Wednesday, and Danuel House will miss Tuesday’s contest with a sprained toe. Harden’s absence on Tuesday is also a precautionary measure, per D’Antoni.

Eric Gordon will also look to play on Wednesday as he recovers from a sprained ankle suffered during a scrimmage against the Celtics on July 28. It’s been an injury-plagued year for the Indiana product, and that trend has certainly carried over to Orlando. But Gordon is confident he’ll still be able to hit the ground running in the postseason with at least one seeding game under his belt.

“We’ve been doing a lot around the clock every day with my ankle," Gordon told the media in a Zoom call on Monday. “This is the most rehab I’ve really done in a short amount of time. It’s been good. I think I’m in a good place to where I can start really pushing it on the floor.”

The Rockets have been one of the hottest teams in Orlando since seeding games began on July 30. Houston enters Tuesday’s matchup 4–1 in the NBA bubble, with wins over the Bucks, Lakers and Mavericks.

Houston will look to advance to 5–1 in the bubble and 45–25 in 2019-20 on Tuesday. Tip-off against San Antonio is dated for 1 p.m. CT.