CLEVELAND — “It’d be alright.”
Those were Chris Paul’s first words when asked about his hand, but Paul was sitting at the dais with his right hand in a soft cast, and when out on the All-Star practice court with his teammates, he didn’t participate in any drills. His actions suggested the hand injury he suffered in the final game before the All-Star was more than nothing.
Later, Paul admitted he was frustrated and hinted he could miss some time.
“Always going to be a frustration with injury,” Paul said. “I mean, I had four hand surgeries in my career, it’s like my hand surgeon is part of my family now. But, things could be a lot worse.
“I’m still blessed, grateful that we 48-10 and, if I do miss some time, I know the guys gonna hold it down.”
Paul injured his right hand when it was jammed on a pass against the Rockets last Wednesday. While Paul talked to the officials, he got ejected for contact with a referee because the official turned into him.
“It didn’t feel good, I’ll tell you that much,” Paul said. “And then when you get ejected on some bogus stuff too, that don’t help either.”
Paul was supposed to have an MRI on his hand on Thursday, but the team has not released the details from that.
Paul suggested he could play in a little in the All-Star game, throw a few passes for assists and get out. He may not even get the chance to do that (coach Monty Williams dodged the “will CP3 play” question).
It’ll be a bit of a surprise if Paul plays in the All-Star Game Sunday, but how much time he could miss after — if any — is anybody’s guess. Paul says it will “be alright.”
