Chris Paul does not sound particularly close to a return for the Golden State Warriors.
The 12-time All-Star guard Paul shared a troubling update this week on his hand injury. Paul told Shayna Rubin of Bay Area News Group that he had an unexpectedly long surgery on his hand that required the insertion of 15 pins and a metal plate. The veteran added that he is still wearing a cast, is going through physical therapy, and will be reevaluated in another week.
Paul, 38, broke the second metacarpal in his left hand while going for a rebound in a Jan. 5 win over the Detroit Pistons. He has had numerous hand surgeries over the course of his 19-year career, which might help explain the complication this time around.
In his first season with the Warriors, Paul has been averaging 8.9 points and 7.2 assists in 27.6 minutes per game, mostly off the bench. He was originally given a four-to-six week return timetable, but it sounds like Paul could be out for longer than that (which would be another blow to Golden State’s thinning backcourt).
