Russell Westbrook had surgery Saturday afternoon to repair a fracture of the zygomatic arch of his right cheek and will be re-evaluated next week. He is considered out for Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports.
Westbrook suffered the injury late in Friday’s loss to the Portland Trail Blazers after taking a knee to the face by his own teammate, Andre Roberson. Westbrook was left with a dent on his face after taking the hit.
For now, the Thunder has not ruled Westbrook out passed Sunday’s game, but if he does miss an extended period of time, it could hurt Oklahoma City’s chances of making the playoffs. The Thunder currently stands at 32-27, half-game ahead of the New Orleans Pelicans.
“Russell Westbrook won’t miss much time with surgery. If he had a playoff game (Sunday), he could play,” one source told Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.
With Westbrook out at least one game and Kevin Durant still sidelined with a foot injury, the Thunder will have to heavily rely on their role players.
Westbrook has been on a tear throughout the month of February, averaging 31.2 points, 10.3 assists, and 9.1 rebounds which is nearly a triple-double. Speaking of, Westbrook has notched three consecutive triple-doubles.
D.J. Augustin is expected to start in Westbrook’s absence on Sunday. Augustin is more than capable of taking over the starting position, as he did the same in Detroit when he took over for Brandon Jennings. However, the Thunder needs both their superstars back into the lineup as soon as possible if they want to hold on to the eighth seed in the West.