Oklahoma Ciy Thunder guard Russell Westbrook suffered a fracture in his right hand vs. the Clippers Thursday. OKC didn't release a prognosis on Thursday night, but coach Scott Brooks confirmed the diagnosis to reporters after the Thunder's heartbreaker loss Thursday night and the Oklahoman's Darnell Mayberry reported that the "early indication" is that Westbrook will miss four to six weeks.
The injury is obviously devastating to the Thunder who were already without MVP Kevin Durant and had only nine available players going into the game vs. Los Angeles. Without their two best players, the Thunder are in huge trouble. Reggie Jackson still hasn't come back from a minor injury. The Thunder's best player vs. the Clippers after Westbrook went out was Perry Jones III.
The question is if the Thunder can survive in any capacity. It's one thing to get along without Durant with Westbrook as your "Option B" or vice versa with Westbrook out and Durant carrying you. But it's another with both out. This sends the Thunder roster back to the stone age. It's not just about the offensive scoring, it's about the pressure they put on the defense, their rebounding, and their court awareness, all of which impact the defense conversely in some manner.
OKC plays Brooklyn, Toronto, and the Grizzlies over the next ten days, three playoff teams before they land a softer stretch that includes the Kings, the Bucks, and the Celtics. But without their two stars, no team is a cupcake.
The other issue is that OKC as 15 players on guaranteed deals. They have no wiggle room to add a free agent without buying someone out or making a trade. How bad could this get? Even with the playoffs six months away, there's a chance that OKC could dig itself into a hole so deep that it's left competing with the Pelicans and Nuggets or some other team for the 8th spot in the West, just because the league is that competitive at this point. They can apply for the hardship but that's only going to get them an extra roster spot.
Westbrook was going to carry the load and establish his own star power with Durant out. Now, he could miss a significant chunk of time that Durant was set to be out. Things are about to get very desperate for OKC, and we're about to find out just how good of a coach Scott Brooks is.
