Houston Rockets All-Star Russell Westbrook will be held out of Wednesday night's matchup against the Atlanta Hawks for rest, according to a report from Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. As a result, Eric Gordon will likely see an uptick in his usage rate.
Russell Westbrook will sit out the first game of the Rockets back-to-back Wednesday in Atlanta.
— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) January 6, 2020
Eric Gordon to play in Atlanta and could play in OKC on Thursday, but TBD.
— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) January 6, 2020
The fact that Westbrook will be held out of Wednesday's game should come as no surprise, as the Rockets have already hinted that they will rest the former UCLA standout on the first game of back-to-back sets throughout this season.
Westbrook went 9-of-22 from the field in Friday night's 118-108 victory over the Sixers, scoring 20 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and three steals. Gordon logged 30 minutes, racking up 12 points, two assists, and two rebounds. With the win, Houston improved to 13-4 at home in this campaign.
Westbrook came to the Rockets this offseason as part of a trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder. So far, he's been a fine addition to the team's roster, though his numbers from seasons past are down. In 21 appearances thus far, he's posted averages of 24.1 points on 42.6 percent shooting from the field (23.5 percent from beyond the arc), 7.9 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 1.5 steals in 35.3 minutes per outing.
Wednesday night's matchup between the Rockets and Hawks is set to tip inside State Farm Arena at 7:30 p.m. ET. Houston will be looking to build on a two-game winning streak.
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