Chris Paul Is Hurt Again After Suffering Hamstring Injury

TheSportster

By Thomas Hall

Published Dec 22, 2018

Chris Paul is hurt again, the Rockets star has suffered a hamstring injury, meaning he won't play more than 78 games a season again.

Houston Rockets guard, Chris Paul, is expected to miss time once again after he left Thursday night's game against the Miami Heat with a hamstring injury.

Paul attempted to dribble the ball behind his legs and was then seen grabbing his left hamstring. He left the game and didn't return, then head coach, Mike D'Antoni, revealed Paul will likely miss significant time.

D'Antoni also said that Paul will undergo an MRI to reveal how serious the hamstring strain is. So not only did the Rockets lose their five-game winning streak against the Heat, but they also lost their All-Star point guard.

Multiple sources are reporting that Paul's injury is a grade three strain in his left hamstring, but the Rockets haven't confirmed anything yet as I'm writing this. If this timetable is accurate, then that would mean we could see Paul returning sometime after the All-Star break.

This would be a big blow to this Rockets team. They have just gotten back into a playoff spot, but now are in jeopardy of falling out of contention again without one of their best players. So far this season, the Rockets have a record of 0-5 without Paul in their lineup and 16-10 with him in.

It also doesn't help that their next nine games are against very good opponents. Seven of their next nine games come against teams who currently own a playoff spot. Combined with that, six out of those nine games are also against teams who currently sit in the top-five in their respective conferences.

Injuries have been such a problem for Paul over his entire career, and this is just the latest example. Paul hasn't appeared in at least 78 games in a season since the 2014/15 season. What's an even bigger concern for the Rockets is that Paul missed the remainder of last season's playoffs due to the same injury to his right hamstring.

This injury to his now left hamstring has to have the Rockets very concerned. Especially because this is the first year of the four-year $160 million deal that he signed this past summer. The Rockets will hope James Harden will be able to carry them until Paul is able to return.

What This Means

Paul's latest injury is one that comes at such an inconvenient time for the Rockets. They were just finding their stride with him back in their lineup. But, now they will be without him for a considerable amount of time.

This also means that the Rockets will have to lean on Harden to carry the team for the foreseeable future. If he can do that, then the Rockets will have a shot at making the top-five in the Western Conference by Paul's return.