The Houston Rockets guard Chris Paul was supposed to welcome his former team, Los Angeles Clippers, on Friday and show them how well he is doing after changing the scenery. Unfortunately, that won’t happen this time. Paul suffered a strained left adductor in Wednesday’s loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.
“I think he’s day to day, but we’re going to be real cautious with it, I’m sure,” – said Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni about Paul’s return.
According to D’Antoni, Paul felt a twinge in his adductor late in the third quarter. He tested it at the beginning of the last quarter and then decided he won’t come back to the game.
“He shut it down immediately, which is good,” – said D’Antoni. “He’s smart enough. He could have played on it, but then he would have been out a lot longer. So he should be OK. I don’t know what that means, exactly how many days, but right now it’s day to day and we’ll see what happens.“
The loss to the Lakers was the first one for Chris Paul in the Rockets uniform. So far he played 16 games, averaging 17.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, 9.0 assists and 2.1 steals per game. He joined the Rockets in the offseason via sign and trade from the Clippers. There were lots of doubts about Paul playing alongside James Harden, but the pair meshed together great and are now considered to be one of the rare teams that can threaten the Golden State Warriors.
Although they currently occupy the first position in the Western Conference with 25-5 record, the Huston Rockets are facing some issues with injuries lately. Besides Chris Paul, another addition from the Clippers, Luc Mbah a Moute, is sidelined with a dislocated right shoulder. The team’s starting center Clint Capela has now missed two games straight and is also doubtful to play against the Clippers.
