The Warriors veteran point guard will be re-evaluated after the All-Star break.
The Golden State Warriors have been without Chris Paul for 16 games and counting. The veteran point guard suffered a fracture in his left hand on Jan 5 against the Detroit Pistons. Just three days later, Paul underwent surgery on his left hand.
Before hosting the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday, the Warriors revealed an injury update for Paul. After missing over a month of time, Paul is making good progress and will be reevaluated again after the Warriors return from the All-Star break. Paul is set to intensify his on-court activities after the break.
In 32 games, Paul is averaging 8.9 points on 42.4% shooting from the field with 7.2 assists and 3.8 rebounds in 27.6 minutes per game for the Warriors.
With no hoops on the schedule, Warriors Wire is rewinding through Golden State’s history for memorable matchups and standout performances.
With no hoops on the calendar, Warriors Wire is rewinding the tape back through Golden State’s history for memorable matchups, standout performances and everything else in between.
Long before his battles with Stephen Curry blossomed into one of the league’s best point guard rivalries, Chris Paul was busy trading shots with another Golden State Warriors floor general. In only his second season in the NBA, Paul went back and forth with one of the leaders of the “We Believe” era.
November 9, 2006
In a rare back-to-back NBA tilt, the New Orleans Hornets suited up against the Golden State Warriors for the second time in three days. While the Hornets took the first game, Baron Davis took charge against his former club in round two.
The Warriors veteran point guard dropped 36 points on 11-of-17 shooting from the field with nine assists, four rebounds and three steals against the Hornets.
Despite a big night from Davis, the young Wake Forest point guard didn’t make it easy on Golden State. Paul nearly matched Davis in every category, scoring 34 points on 12-of-21 shooting with 10 assists, three rebounds and two steals.
Paul’s 34 point performance was good enough to register a new career-high in scoring for the New Orleans point guard. Later in 2009, Paul notched 43 points against the Warriors at Oracle Arean for his current career-high scoring mark.
While the point guards exchanged haymakers, a 21 point effort from Monta Ellis paired with 20 points and seven rebounds from Troy Murphy helped seal Golden State’s narrow 121-115 victory at Oracle Arena.
“We don’t talk or communicate or nothing like that, but that’s all good and well,” Paul said of Harden. “I wish him the best.”
On Monday, Houston Rockets guard and MVP finalist James Harden addressed the subject of playing former co-star Chris Paul in a playoff series, noting that there was nothing personal about the matchup.
“I don’t ever take anything personal,” said Harden, who was asked about facing Paul in the playoffs. “I’m trying to win games, and I’m trying to win a playoff series. I take it one possession at a time, one game at a time.”
Later that day, Paul was asked how he views the relationship in an exclusive interview with TNT’s Chris Haynes. While “CP3” said that he and Harden no longer talk, he also said they aren’t enemies. His comments:
He’s not going to hit me [up] to tell my daughter ‘Happy birthday!’ today. We don’t talk or communicate or nothing like that, but that’s all good and well. I wish him the best in anything and everything he does.
That’s one thing I think people fail to realize, sometimes, in these situations. Sometimes you have teammates, and it is for that period of time. But that’s okay. You can wish each other well going forward. It doesn’t mean you have to be kumbaya, and it doesn’t mean you have to be enemies. At the end of the day, everybody’s got a life to live.
Chris Paul very candid on where his relationship stands with James Harden leading up to the Thunder meeting the Rockets tonight on @NBAonTNT: “He’s not going to hit me to tell my daughter Happy Birthday today.” pic.twitter.com/MOalfyjDRE
Early in the 2019 offseason, there were reports of friction between the All-Star guards during their second season together, Weeks later, Paul was traded to the Thunder in a blockbuster deal for Russell Westbrook.
But there haven’t been any signs of on-court animosity between Harden and Paul during the three Rockets-Thunder games in the 2019-20 regular season, and it doesn’t seem there will be in the playoffs, either. Judging by the pre-series comments, there may not be much of any reaction.
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By and large, the future Hall of Famers haven’t said much publicly regarding their relationship status. They’ve each been busy leading teams with identical 44-28 records — tied for No. 4 in the Western Conference.
Rockets veteran P.J. Tucker, who grew up as a childhood friend of Paul and played with him the last two seasons, said Monday that there could be some extra motivation to the series. Among his comments:
Knowinghim, he wants this bad. I know [Chris] wants this bad. I know he’s on the other side and telling the guys what they’ve got to do, and kind of giving them our game plan. I know how competitive he is.
#Rockets P.J. Tucker on playing against longtime friend & former teammate Chris Paul: "I think it'll be fun. Knowing him, he wants this bad. I know he wants this bad. It's going to be an interesting series, It's going to be fun. I'm looking forward to it for sure." #NBAPlayoffs
Tuesday’s Game 1 between the Rockets and Thunder tips off at 5:30 p.m. Central, with a national broadcast on TNT and a regional version (with Houston announcers) on AT&T SportsNet Southwest.
