Chris Paul returns to action two months after undergoing thumb surgery – NBA News
Two months after undergoing surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right thumb, the Los Angeles Clippers All Star point guard and leader Chris Paul started in his first preseason game against the Miami Heat on Sunday afternoon
in Shanghai. And it was the best of times to make his comeback, in front of a jam packed audience that loves the NBA and its superstars as much as the fans back home.
Paul played 21 minutes in the exhibition game, a part of the NBA China Games, and finished with four points and six assists as the point guard went straight to work and orchestrated the team’s plays and led them to a 99-89 win
over the defending champions. Paul did not participate much in the team’s training camp since the day it started, and was only cleared for full contact three days ago. And he took full advantage of the situation, not letting the opportunity of playing in China
pass him by.
"Being here in China, I mean these are some of my most loyal fans and for me to come this far and not to get out there and play in front of them, I just wouldn't have felt right. I'm excited. I don't get to do this (play in China)
as often as I would like, so I want to play,” said Paul while talking to Clippers.com before the exhibition game got underway.
Paul suffered the thumb injury while participating in the U.S Olympic Basketball squad training camp that was held in Las Vegas ahead of the Summer Olympics. Paul managed to play through camp and participated in the London Olympics
in July, helping team U.S.A finish with a gold medal. He underwent surgery on the thumb a few days after the gold medal game, and was glad to be back in action before the season opener for the Clippers. With Paul back in the line-up, the Clippers will be hoping
for a similar return by veteran point guard Chauncey Billups to complete the backcourt of the team ahead of the start of the regular season. Billups, however, is scheduled to return some time in November as he continues to recover from a torn Achilles injury.
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