The Oklahoma City Thunder are pulling away from the rest of the pack in the Western Conference thanks to the MVP-type of play from superstar Kevin Durant even without injured partner Russell Westbrook. Now the sidelined Westbrook is reportedly set to return to the court, bolstering the nearly invincible Thunder.
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports is reporting that sources within the OKC Thunder camp say that the Westbrook could come back as early as February 20 when the Thunder meet the defending champion Miami Heat in Oklahoma City.
Veteran Derek Fisher weighed in on the impending return of Westbrook.
"What's most intriguing about Russell's return is that even at the level we're playing at now, we'll be better," Fisher said. "He's going to make us better."
Westbrook's return is expected to strengthen the Thunder's backcourt which has been getting splendid contributions from Reggie Jackson. Prior to undergoing arthroscopic surgery, he was averaging 21.3 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds in 33 minutes. He suited up in 28 games, with the Thunder winning 23 of them.
He had also sustained a torn lateral meniscus in his right knee during the NBA playoffs in April. He underwent surgery on April 27, then had another operation on October 1. Surprisingly, he returned to action ahead of his timetable, just missing the Thunder's first two regular season games.
Oklahoma had been the NBA's hottest team in 2014. On Saturday night the Washington Wizards snapped the Thunder's 0 game winning streak by a score of 96-81.
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