Things had been going well for Chris Paul. He had just been named to the Western Conference All-Star team and had the Hornets rolling, winning four of their last six games. Paul himself had also seemed to have hit a groove as he was having his best month of the season. However, late in their highly contested game against the Bulls, Paul dove for a loose ball and injured his left knee. While he was noticeably hobbled throughout the overtime period, most figured that he’d ultimately be OK if he was good enough to play through the pain.
Further examination would suggest otherwise. Tests revealed that Paul had a partial tear to the meniscus in his left knee, an injury that will require surgery. The full extent of the injury isn’t known at this point, but he is expected to miss anywhere from one to two months. This is particularly costly in a Western Conference defined by its parity, especially for a Hornets team that is already on the bubble as far as the playoffs are concerned. While they are currently in the eighth spot, they share the same record with Oklahoma City, and are no more than a game ahead of both Memphis and Houston. Needless to say, a bad week (or potentially two months) in the West, and you can find yourself out of the playoff race.
The Hornets will have to rely heavily on rookie point-guard Darren Collison. He performed brilliantly in his first start since Paul’s injury, notching 17 points and an amazing 18 assists en route to a big win over the Grizzlies. Collison will have to keep having such Herculean efforts to keep the Hornets afloat, as they don’t have any other legitimate point guards on their roster.
The injury will also prevent Paul from appearing in the All-Star game, and David Stern will have to determine his replacement. This is good news for Chauncey Billups, who is certainly playing All-Star caliber basketball lately. The Nuggets have won nine out of their last ten games, and Billups is averaging 24 points per contest during that stretch. His addition in replacement of Paul should be an absolute no-brainer at this point.
So the real question is, do you think the Hornets can keep a hold of that 8-seed with Collison at the helm as long as CP3 is out?
