The Oklahoma City Thunder own the NBA’s best record, and have Kevin Durant, who has been arguably the NBA’s best player so far this season. However the team looks like they could be getting even stronger, as they prepare to welcome star point-guard Russell Westbrook back into the lineup. Westbrook has missed 30 games since undergoing knee surgery in late December. The team went 22-8 over that stretch.
Marc J. Spears at Yahoo! Sports, is reporting that the Thunder are hopeful to have Westbrook back in the lineup for a key February 20th matchup with another of the NBA’s best teams, the two-time defending Champion Miami Heat. While the game will be focused on the Durant vs Lebron James matchup, the Thunder are hoping they can add a little more star power in Westbrook to off-set the stellar cast that surrounds James.
The match up is already must-see T.V. without Westbrook, and adding him to the mix will just make it that much sweeter. It is a 2012 NBA Finals rematch, and a possible 2014 NBA Finals preview when these two teams take to the court.
In 25 games this season, the 25-year-old Westbrook is averaging 21.3 points, 7.0 assists, and 6.0 rebounds per game.
While you can’t say that the Thunder have struggled without Westbrook, they are even more dominant with him in the lineup. Overall the team is 24-10 without Westbrook in the lineup, and 21-5 with him this season. His injury was also a key reason why the Thunder fell in last year’s NBA playoffs.
Now the questions to be asked include, can Westbrook hit that target date? How many minutes can he play if he does? and How effective will he be coming off the long layoff? These are all questions the fans will hope to be able to answer on the 20th.
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