Predicting the Oklahoma City Thunder's Record During Westbrook's Absence

The Oklahoma City Thunder started their season with a victory over the Utah Jazz, 101-98, despite the absence of All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook. However, the win was far from convincing, and it was apparent how much the Thunder will miss Westbrook as he recovers from his right knee injury. 

The good news is Westbrook seems to be making a quicker recovery than expected. According to Royce Young on DailyThunder.com, Westbrook could be back on the court as early as Nov. 10th when the Thunder play the Washington Wizards. That means he would be back in action in about two weeks, rather than four to six weeks as originally expected. 

Adrian Wojnarowski on Yahoo! Sports confirmed claims of an early return for Westbrook this season:

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Oklahoma Thunder star Russell Westbrook has made significant progress in his recovery from a second surgical procedure on his knee and could return to the Thunder’s lineup within two weeks, league sources told Yahoo Sports.

The Thunder issued an original timetable of six to eight weeks from Wednesday’s opening night for Westbrook, but barring an unforeseen setback he could be back in the lineup by mid-November.

Westbrook began participating in Thunder practice sessions and has impressed everyone with his explosion and fast return to form, sources said.

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It looks like Westbrook will be on the court much sooner than expected, which is great news for Thunder fans. 

But how will the team fare during his absence? 

For the sake of argument, let's mark Nov. 10th as the day Westbrook makes his return. The Thunder will have four games until that date: the Minnesota Timberwolves, Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks and Detroit Pistons. 

Doesn't seem like too difficult of a schedule, but there are a couple games I think will be difficult to pull out a victory without Westbrook running point. 

Minnesota Timberwolves, Nov. 1st

The Thunder play at Minnesota when they face the Timberwolves Friday night. The Timberwolves won their season opener—which went into overtime—120-115 over the Orlando Magic. Kevin Love played stellar, recording 31 points and 17 rebounds. 

The Timberwolves are certainly not a team to sleep on, as they have a solid core of playmakers including Love, Kevin Martin, Ricky Rubio, J.J. Barea and Nikola Pekovic. 

The Thunder will have to find a way to keep up with the Timberwolves' high-powered offense, and it will be much more difficult without Westbrook keeping the opposing defense on its heels. 

It should also be noted these teams split the series last season with Westbrook on the court. Needless to say, Friday night's game will be far from a cake walk for the Thunder. 

Prediction: Thunder 96, Timberwolves 101

Phoenix Suns, Nov. 3rd

The Thunder have their home opener against a far inferior Phoenix Suns team. The Suns won their opener against the Portland Trail Blazers 104-91, behind Goran Dragic's 26 points. 

Even without Westbrook on the floor, the Thunder should be able to take care of business against the Suns. The Oklahoma City home crowd will certainly create an electric atmosphere, and unless the Thunder put out a complete dismal performance, they will come out with a victory. 

The Thunder swept their four-game series with the Suns last season. Look for that trend to continue. 

Prediction: Thunder 108, Suns 92

Dallas Mavericks, Nov. 6th

The most difficult game in Westbrook's absence will be against the Dallas Mavericks. The Mavericks won in impressive fashion over the Atlanta Hawks in their season opener, and had three players (Monta Ellis, Dirk Nowitzki and Vince Carter) score more than 20 points. 

Just like the Thunder's game with the Timberwolves, the Mavericks will be a tough team to go toe-to-toe with on the offensive end. If Westbrook is playing, the Thunder will have the upper hand on their home court, but without him, this game is a toss-up. 

However, I believe home court will be the difference in the game.

Prediction: Thunder 98, Mavericks 97

Detroit Pistons, Nov. 8th

The Detroit Pistons will not be the subpar team we have come to know in past years. They have an evenly distributed amount of scorers that make it hard to defend for opposing defenses. 

With that said, the Pistons are still not at the same level as the Thunder, even without Westbrook. The Pistons have a somewhat similar identity as the Utah Jazz, meaning they don't have high-profile players that dominate on a nightly basis, but they still have a good enough core to win a fair amount of games. 

The Thunder may struggle a bit against the Pistons as they will against the Jazz, but they will come out victorious in the end because of that guy named Kevin Durant. 

Prediction: Thunder 94, Pistons 88

Thunder's Record in the absence of Westbrook: 4-1

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