Is Russell Westbrook playing tonight against Philadelphia 76ers in Game 3 of the 2021 NBA Playoffs?

The Washington Wizards hope that their star point guard Russell Westbrook laces up for Game 3 as they host the Philadelphia 76ers at Capital One Arena. The Sixers have a commanding 2-0 lead in the first round of the 2021 NBA Playoffs and are expected to dominate the 8th-seeded Wizards once again. However, to make matters worse for Washington fans, Russell Westbrook suffered an apparent ankle injury in the fourth quarter of Game 2.

Russell Westbrook was frustrated after suffering an apparent ankle injury. He left for the locker room in the fourth. pic.twitter.com/XWqJK3WOOq

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 27, 2021

The former league MVP left the floor right before the infamous "popcorn" incident with a fan took place right as he was heading to the locker room.

NBA Playoffs 2021: Is Russell Westbrook playing tonight against the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 3?

Russell Westbrook suffers an ankle injury

Russell Westbrook has been listed as questionable against the Philadelphia 76ers for Game 3 of the first round of the 2021 NBA playoffs. He did not practice with the team yesterday and coach Scott Brooks said the team will determine his status based on how the point guard feels tomorrow. During his postgame press conference, Russell Westbrook said he would get treatment and should hopefully feel better.

Official injury report: Westbrook (right ankle sprain) is questionable for Game 3 of #WizSixers. https://t.co/ZZETn3j3ax

— Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) May 28, 2021

Coach Scott Brooks spoke about Westbrook's status and how the star point guard had been beaten up earlier in the game. He said:

"I’ve seen him bounce back from some very not-so-good moments where you think he might be out for a couple of weeks. He’s tough. He’s not happy that he wasn’t able to finish the game, but he’s a winning basketball player."

Even if Russell Westbrook does lace up for the game, he is expected to be under a minutes restriction. We will have to see how that affects the Wizards down the stretch as they are 4-3 without him for the season.

The injury came at the worst possible time for the Washington Wizards as they are currently down 0-2 in the series. If they lose Game 3, recovering from a 0-3 deficit is next to impossible. No team has ever won a series after being down 0-3 in 140 occasions in NBA history.

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