It looks like Doc Rivers' "sources" were wrong after all.

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook has reportedly been ruled out for Friday's game versus the Los Angeles Clippers. Royce Young of ESPN tweeted the news just hours before the game on Friday night, adding that Westbrook could make his debut on Sunday.

On Thursday, Los Angeles Clippers head coach Doc Rivers' "sources" claimed that Oklahoma City Thunder star Russell Westbrook would make his season debut on Friday, after missing Tuesday's season opener while recovering from offseason knee surgery.

Via Jovan Buha of The Athletic:

Rivers seemed 100 percent certain that Westbrook will make his season debut, although the Thunder continued to report that the star player would be "out" for Friday's game. Even Thunder coach Billy Donovan had no new updates regarding the veteran point guard at Thursday's practice.

The bottom line is, Westbrook is still recovering from knee surgery on September 12, his fourth knee surgery since 2013. It's clear that the Thunder are being cautious with his right knee injury, especially considering his past history with knee ailments. When one considers that Dennis Schroder is now his primary backup and can fill in adequately as the starting point guard, there's really no reason to rush him back, even if that means the team gets off to a slow start at the beginning of the 2018-19 season.

Speaking of Schroder, while he did struggle from the field (7-of-19) in the season opener versus the Golden State Warriors, he also posted a productive stat line of 21 points, nine rebounds and six assists. That's not even mentioning that he nearly led the Thunder to an upset victory over the Warriors until Golden State pulled away in the final minute of regulation with a 108-100 victory.

In other words, this isn't like the past couple of seasons where Westbrook's backups at point guard consisted of guys like Raymond Felton and Cameron Payne. His usage percentage of 33.2 percent last season was the highest in the league, higher than other workhorses such as LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Giannis Antetokounmpo. The former NBA MVP no longer has to push himself through ailments in order to carry this team, as the Thunder actually some have depth on their side heading into this season.

OKC will tip off versus the Clippers at Staples Center at 10:30 pm ET on Friday night.