Veteran NBA point guard Chris Paul has suffered a fractured left hand and will require surgery to repair the injury Golden State has announced.
Paul, who suffered the injury midway through the 3rd quarter of the Warriors 113-109 win over Detroit, will undergo a procedure next week and remains without a timetable to return. However the expectation is that he will be able to return at some point this season.
Paul’s hand was bent awkwardly by Piston’s guard Jaden Ivey when the two were fighting for a rebound with 6:06 remaining in the third. The 38 year old went back to the locker room in visible pain shortly thereafter.
“That’s tough,” coach Steve Kerr said. “I feel so bad for Chris. I know he’s had a couple of hand surgeries before, I believe, maybe on the other hand. I saw him holding it and instantly was worried. Just got the word after walking off the floor. So I feel terrible for Chris, and obviously, guys will step up and be ready to play. We’ve got to hold down the fort without him.”
After largely coming off the bench for most of this season, Paul had drawn into the starting lineup for the Warriors past 4 games as the club attempts to remain alive in the playoff picture without suspended forward Draymond Green.
“He’s such a cerebral player,” Warriors guard Stephen Curry told reporters. “He knows how to manage the game, getting us organized. We had a stretch where we had some tough starts. This is obviously because Draymond is out and how different we look as a team trying to run our system. CP is a great addition to that flow.”
Now in his 19th NBA season, Paul is averaging 9pts/3.7reb/7.3ast in 27 minutes a night through 31 games. With the 12x NBA All-Star out of the lineup, Golden State will have to rely more on Brandon Podziemski and Cory Joseph as the club is also without Gary Payton II who is currently dealing with a hamstring injury.
The Warriors are next in action Sunday at home against the Toronto Raptors.
-Kyle Skinner
Twitter: @JKyleSkinner
Photo: Tulane Public Relations. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.