Russell Westbrook to Miss the Game against Atlanta Hawks; Expected a Warm Welcome Later in Oklahoma

Published 01/08/2020, 1:21 PM EST

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Russell Westbrook is set to miss Houston Rockets’ upcoming game against Atlanta Hawks.

The Rockets will be playing Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday, and a day later they will play a game at Oklahoma City against the Thunder.

Rockets coach Mike De’Antoni confirmed that Westbrook will miss the game against Hawks.

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The last-minute decision is understood to manage Westbrook’s load so that he is fit and fresh for a return to his old team on Thursday.

Russell Westbrook expected to get a warm welcome at OKC

Before playing for the Rockets, Westbrook had spent 11 years with the Oklahoma City Thunder. During his time there, he was league MVP in 2017.

In the 2019/20 NBA preseason, Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder carried out a blockbuster trade deal on the deadline day that saw Russell Westbrook move to Houston and Chris Paul go to Oklahoma.

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Since the move, this will be the first time Westbrook will be visiting his old team, and he is expected to get a warm welcome.

“That place is always going to be special to me because I grew up there,” Westbrook said as per Salman Ali of ESPN. “I spent a big part of my career there. Met a lot of people there. Good organization. Great people.”

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Westbrook did not want to get too emotional when he was asked about his fondest memories ahead of the game against his old team.

“I mean I can go a long list,” Westbrook said. “But we’ll talk about it after the game. I don’t wanna get that much into it before the game.”

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Written by:

Saketh Kandadai

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