The series isn't over by any means, but let's call a spade a spade. The Thunder and Rockets have the same records (44-27) with Russell Westbrook playing in most of the games. OKC has been better since Thanksgiving, with Russ playing. Now subtract him, and... it's not good.

Upsets happen, and certainly the Rockets are due for one of those. But if Westbrook misses time, the Thunder are deserving favorites. There's no way to spin it otherwise. It's a brutal blow.

We'll never truly know if Tuesday made his quad worse, since there isn't a before/after MRI comparison.

But man, knowing what we know now, I wish they had done an MRI before letting him play in that meaningless game.