They had the same injuries, no? They had eerily similar career arcs and stats. One is playing and has come back from his injuries and is playing his way into shape. The other isn't running yet, last I saw. The Thunder obviously are a contender.
Yes and no. Westbrook tore his meniscus in late April, ending his playoffs. He returned to action in the Thunder's 3rd game this season, so he was out about 6 months from the meniscus surgery. He then had problems with swelling in the repaired knee and had arthroscopic surgery in late December. Could have been he returned too soon or it could've been something else. In any case, he's now returning after about 7 weeks off from that second cleanup surgery. Rose is in his 3rd month of recovery from his meniscus surgery.
