Chris Paul out of Los Angeles Clippers Monday's game due to strained hamstring - NBA Update
Los Angeles Clippers- probably the most exciting team and one to watch out for this season have suffered a major setback.
An MRI that was done on point guard Chris Paul’s hamstring has come out negative and therefore he might be missing the game against New Jersey Nets on Monday night.
Paul caught an injury in the deciding quarter of the game against the Los Angeles Lakers yesterday and although it did not look too threatening at that time, MRI results show that he has strained his hamstring.
This is a big blow for Clippers as they have a busy week ahead, where they will be playing 5 days in a week’s time. Although the reports suggest he will be fine in 2-3 days, but chances are that he might miss the whole week of action as Clippers would be
cautious about him and would definitely not be employing him even he is half fit, to avoid further injuries.
"Chris is such a big part of what we do but you have to deal with it and other guys have to get ready to play," Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro said after practice Sunday. "We have some other guys banged up. It's just part of the job and part of the schedule;
we just have to hopefully get as healthy as possible as quick as possible with all the games coming up."
He underlined Paul’s importance to the team and said the club will only act when they are sure about him.
"Chris is a fighter. He's competitive. If he can get out there, he will, and we'll be smart about it because we have a lot of games still left."
Clippers have found his temporary replacement in the form of D-leagues Courtney Fortson, who was spotted in the team’s practice session on Sunday afternoon.
Fortson represents D-Leagues Los Angeles D-Fenders and is averaging 15.9 points, 5.2 assists and 4.4 rebounds per game at the moment. He is in supreme form and although he is nowhere near to Paul’s in terms of quality, he could be effective as a bench player.
At the start of the season, Clippers were a team with an abundance of options at the point guard position, however at the moment they are left with only one; Chauncey Billups. Mo Williams injured his foot few days ago and now Paul pulled his hamstring. Hopefully
both will be back in action soon.
In the meantime, coach Vinny will be pleased that playmaking responsibilities have still fallen on the trustworthy shoulders of veteran Billups.
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