The Oklahoma City Thunder need help. Luckily for them, it may be coming sooner rather than later. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook participated in portions of non-contact drills at the Thunder's practice Saturday. Both are progressing well according to Thunder coach Scott Brooks.
Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook return to practice, ‘looked good’
Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks is optimistic after Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook participated in non-contact drills Saturday.
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
“They looked good,” Brooks told the Oklahoman. “They’ve been with the group the whole time, but [Saturday] was the first day they’ve actually participated in some of the drills.”
Durant and Westbrook didn’t participate in the entire practice, just for a select set of drills. Durant underwent surgery to fix a fracture in his foot five weeks ago. His timetable for return was six to eight weeks. He will have his foot examined on Thanksgiving. Westbrook broke his hand a little more than three weeks ago and was expected to miss four to six weeks. He was expected to be evaluated two days after the holiday. Both players appear to be on track to return on the short end of their recovery window.
According to the Oklahoman, Westbrook could return as early as Friday for the Thunder's game with the New York Knicks.
Brooks wasn’t willing to give a return date, but was happy to have his two star players on the court.
“It was good to see them out there with the group,” he said. “They’re progressing well. I’m sure in the next couple of days they’re going to continue to add more to it.”
Durant and Westrbook's return can't come soon enough for the Thunder, who have struggled to a 3-11 record without them -- last in the Western Conference. Last year, the Mavericks won 49 games to earn the eighth seed. The Thunder would need to go 46-22 from here on out to sneak into the playoffs.
But Brooks isn’t going to rush his stars back onto the court, risking further injury or delayed recovery. “Not one time will we ever put our players in a position to be on the court when they’re not ready regardless of how important the game is, how tough the situation we are in,” Brooks said. “Our record’s not where we want it to be. But we still have a great opportunity ahead of us. There’s a lot of basketball to be played ... Obviously we have some catching up to do. But we’re never going to put our players in a situation that ‘We need you to get out here’ when they’re not ready to be out on the court.”
Oklahoma City will be without its two stars for Sunday's game against 9-2 Golden State, but with help on the way, Thunder forward Nick Collison was upbeat. "It was good to see them back," he said. "It gave us a little energy boost."
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