Lakers’ Russell Westbrook out of COVID-19 protocol, expected to play tonight

MINNEAPOLIS — In a stirring crook of events successful astir 24 hours, the Lakers announced Friday day that Russell Westbrook is expected to play contiguous against the Minnesota Timberwolves, giving a boost to a squad that has rapidly been ravaged by affirmative coronavirus tests this week.

The squad had said conscionable 1 time earlier that Westbrook had entered the NBA’s COVID-19 protocols, requiring him to quarantine distant from teammates and staff. Westbrook and chap starting defender Avery Bradley remained successful Dallas arsenic the Lakers flew to Minnesota connected Thursday afternoon.

Westbrook is 1 of the team’s astir productive starters, averaging 19.6 points, 8.4 assists and 7.8 rebounds per game. He’s besides 1 of 2 Lakers, on with Carmelo Anthony, to play successful each 29 games truthful acold this season.

The Lakers besides announced that they expect Trevor Ariza, who has not played this play owed to ankle debridement surgery, to suit up for his archetypal crippled for the Lakers. However, the squad doesn’t mean to play him, preferring a gradual ramp up backmost to playing clip akin to however they incorporated Wayne Ellington backmost from wounded earlier this season.

The Lakers’ protocols concern remains precarious astatine best: The squad added Kendrick Nunn to the database of players successful protocols earlier Friday afternoon. Nunn has not played this play either.

As of Friday afternoon, the Lakers had Nunn, Bradley Talen Horton-Tucker, Dwight Howard and Malik Monk inactive successful protocols. Monk was cleared to question with the squad connected Thursday afternoon, but his presumption has inactive not been updated to disposable yet.