Questions over Russell Westbrook’s Game 5 absence

Photo by Jesse Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty ImagesThe Houston Rockets will be without Russell Westbrook yet again for Game 5 against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday.

The report that Westbrook will be out for the fifth game of the series comes as a bit (emphasis on bit) of a surprise after head coach Mike D’Antoni told reporters on Tuesday that Westbrook was listed as day-to-day. Westbrook’s new status was the first time he was upgraded since after the Rockets played the San Antonio Spurs on Aug. 11.

According to D’Antoni, Westbrook’s return is not in his or even Westbrook’s hands, but in the hands of their medical staff.

D'Antoni said the decision on Westbrook's return is entirely the…