[外電] MRI exam reveals groin strain
Source: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3881581
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MRI exam reveals groin strain
Updated: February 3, 2009, 5:48 PM ET
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WESTWEGO, La. -- Chris Paul laughed and joked with teammates after Hornets
practice on Tuesday, the grim silence that followed the All-Star point
guard's injury and his team's ensuing collapse a night earlier fading into
memory.
New Orleans learned while blowing a big lead to Portland on Monday night that
adjusting to life without Paul may be even harder than imagined.
The good news for the Hornets is they may not have to endure without him for
much more than a few games. An MRI indicated that Paul had only a mild strain
of his right groin and he is listed as day to day.
"I feel good," Paul said. "Maybe I can play [Wednesday], maybe Friday, so I'm
going to just go with it and see how it feels. ... Any time something's torn
or something like that, it can be a long time, but this right here, I felt
like that was good news."
Based on the way they fell apart against Portland, the Hornets could be in
for a serious struggle if Paul's pain lingers.
New Orleans led by 17 when Paul left with 1:30 to go in the third quarter.
The Trail Blazers quickly erased the deficit, outscoring the Hornets 38-15 in
the fourth quarter for a 97-89 victory.
The Hornets are now in the midst of a three-game losing streak, their longest
of the season, with home games coming up against Chicago on Wednesday,
Toronto on Friday and Minnesota on Sunday before New Orleans travels to
Memphis on Monday.
Paul wants to be back sometime during that stretch, but head coach Byron
Scott said he may sit his best player for all four of those games.
"Everybody knows the type of heart he has and how much he wants to play, but
I don't think it's possible [for Paul] to play" Wednesday, Scott said. "If
anything, [if] he plays tomorrow, he does more damage to it. So we want to
take a couple of days and see if he's a fast healer. Until that thing is
pretty much cleared up, we're going to wait."
Scott said he expects Antonio Daniels to start at point guard for the rest of
the week, with Devin Brown as the primary backup. Paul started the Hornets'
first 45 games, averaging 21.5 points, 10.9 assists and 2.8 steals.
As the Hornets dealt with injuries to All-Star David West, center Tyson
Chandler and forward Peja Stojakovic, Paul often picked up the slack with his
knack for recognizing where teammates are most comfortable shooting and
getting the ball to the player with the hot hand. Combined with his own
ability to score as needed, get steals and create havoc on the defensive end
with his quickness, he's led New Orleans to a 28-17 record. As of Tuesday,
that was good for second place in the Southwest Division and fifth in the
Western Conference.
West and Stojakovic are back in the lineup now, but Chandler may remain out
another week as he rebuilds strength in his sprained left ankle, Scott said.
"I'm not going to rush Chris back or Tyson back and put those guys at risk to
get hurt later in the season," Scott said. "We know we need those guys
healthy and playing at 100 percent, not out there hopping around at about 50
percent, because they're not only going to hurt themselves but then they'll
probably end up hurting the team."
Although the Hornets looked lost without Paul on Monday, Scott suggested that
stemmed from the distraction of losing Paul during a game.
"We were probably more shocked than anything when he went down and I think we
let that affect us throughout the rest of the game," Scott said. "It does
tell a little bit about our team. It's no secret how important he is to what
we do. But now is an opportunity for other guys to step up again and we've
got to prove to ourselves that we can still win basketball games.
"Adversity happens with every team," Scott added. "It's just how you deal
with it that's going to make you a champion or not."
In the meantime, Scott is trying to give the Hornets' offense a little more
structure, rather than allow for more creativity and ad-libbing by the point
guard.
"Chris is a special talent. There are not a lot of people in this league who
can do what he does," Scott said. "We can't go into the game thinking we're
going to play the same way because we don't have the same players.
"It's going to be a lot more set plays where we can get the ball to certain
guys in certain spots," Scott added.
Now it's up to Daniels, a veteran in his 12th season, to be the steadying
hand Scott believed he could be when the Hornets traded for him earlier this
season.
"With CP in there, 95 percent of the time the ball's in his hands and he's
making plays," Daniels said. "He's an All-Star caliber player, an MVP caliber
player, and you can't really replace something like that and I can't try to
be Chris Paul.
"I'm not saying I have to have 20 points a night or have 12 assists a night.
That's not the type of player that I am, not the type of player that I've
been for my 12 years in this league," Daniels continued. "I just have to be
aggressive and try and make the guys around me better."
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