Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder had a Game 4 to forget against the Utah Jazz on Monday night. It was a chippy affair the Thunder lost, putting them on the bring of a first-round exit from the playoffs for the second straight season.
It was bad enough that Westbrook got chirped by Mitt Dang Romney, but somehow Tuesday brought worse news for the reigning league MVP. Reports indicated that another incident could cost the Thunder their superstar’s services in Game 5.
In the fourth quarter, with Westbrook not among the five Thunder players on the court, Utah’s Rudy Gobert is fouled in the “beignets” by Raymond Felton. Gobert took exception and suddenly Westbrook, who was waiting to check into the game, got on the court to give Gobert a short, sharp shove.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5SQ4-seUKg
According to Andy Larsen of KSL.com, officials are investigating whether Westbrook was officially checked into the game or if he left early, essentially joining a conflict on the court from the bench.
A pool reporter request to the game officials to ask them about the play was initiated, but the NBA indicated that the officials wouldn’t comment on the matter because it would be reviewed by the league’s disciplinary committee.
Westbrook, for his part, believes he had, in fact, already officially checked into the game at that point.
Russell Westbrook says that on the play when he came on the court and was involved in the Rudy Gobert/Raymond Felton jawing, he had heard the horn and entered the game. Says he always uses the horn as the cue to check in.
— Brett Dawson (@BDawsonWrites) April 24, 2018
It will be fascinating to see how the NBA handles this, as the league has strict rules about leaving the bench area for any reason and if he wasn’t checked in their hands may be tied here. However, it’s quite difficult to tell the timing of everything from that video and no one (outside of Utah) would want to see Westbrook miss a critical game for this.
If Westbrook does catch a suspension it would obviously be a huge blow to OKC’s comeback chances, and certainly rob fans of an opportunity to see Westbrook go supernova to save the Thunder’s season. It would also possibly Mitt Romney another reason to gloat at the reigning MVP. 2018 is wild.
(via NBC Sports)
