Houston Rockets All-Star Russell Westbrook has been cleared to play in Saturday's Game 5 matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Brodie was dealing with a quad injury, but he's recovered enough to rejoin his teammates, according to Kelly Iko of The Athletic.

So… what does Westbrook's return mean for the Rockets and their chances of advancing to the second round and beyond?

Quite a bit.

Russell Westbrook had been sidelined throughout the opening round of the playoffs. Even without his services, the Rockets rattled off a two-game lead right away. Now, however, Oklahoma City has stormed back behind solid play from Chris Paul and Dennis Schroder to even the series at two games apiece.

The Rockets will need Westbrook's defensive hand against Paul and Schroder — two of the scrappiest guards in the NBA. According to ESPN, Paul and Schroder combined to average 26.5 points and 39.7 percent shooting from the field in Games 1 and 2. The last two games, however, the duo has combined to average 55.5 points on a whopping 52.6 percent shooting. Schroder poured in 29 and 30 in Games 3 and 4, respectively.

“He always causes problems,” Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni said of Schroder, via ESPN. “He's a good player. He's crafty.”

Westbrook's return should give the Rockets a lift on the offensive end of the floor as well. Without his services, Houston has struggled to create consistent space on the floor, which is a problem for a team that plays a run-and-gun, small-ball sort of style for the most part. James Harden, for instance, is just 11-for-39 from behind the 3-point line in the last three games. He went 6-for-13 from behind the arc in the series opener.

Oklahoma City rookie Luguentz Dort has been shadowing Harden. Westbrook's return will likely free up a bit of space for his teammate.

Via ESPN:

“Lu is special,” Paul said of Dort, who kept Harden in check in the fourth quarter of Game 4 despite playing most of the quarter with five fouls. “Unbelievable how he accepts the challenge.”

All of this could lead to a big Game 5 for Russell Westbrook, who reportedly looked “explosive” in a 5-on-5 scrimmage on Thursday. The Rockets will likely be cautious with their approach to his return. At this point, though, it's not clear what sort of workload he'll be given. Still, having him back in the fold is a big boost.

“He looked as explosive as ever,” a source told ESPN, referring to Westbrook's intrasquad scrimmage.

As an interesting side note, Westbrook will be facing his former team. He joined the Rockets as part of a blockbuster deal with the Thunder last summer. Will there be any added motivation for Russ, or will it be business as usual?

Game 5 was originally scheduled for an earlier date, but it was postponed after players from several teams around the league boycotted to raise awareness for Jacob Blake, who was shot multiple times in the back by Kenosha, Wisconsin police over the weekend. As a result, the matchup is now set for Friday at 6:30 p.m. ET, with TNT having live broadcast coverage.