Chris Paul will return from injury for the Los Angeles Clippers as they take on the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday, Feb. 9. Paul had been injured since Jan. 3 when he suffered a separated shoulder injury. Paul was slated to return on Friday night, as that was the CP3's target return date.
Only being two days off won't hurt the Paul or the Clips, as the team did pretty well in their 18 games without him, winning 12 of them. Paul had his first practice on Saturday as head coach Doc Rivers said the 28-year-old "looked great."
"I think it's going to take Chris some time to get his rhythm back. That's why I am hoping he is healthy and we can play him Sunday, have a practice on Tuesday and play him Wednesday. I think that helps. I think it's going to take a couple weeks for him to get his rhythm back, no doubt."
Paul was elected as a reserve for the 2014 NBA All-Star Game, so there's a good chance he could play there next week if all things go well for him in his return. Rivers hopes so, and thinks it won't harm Paul as the All-Star game is rarely physical or involves much defense.
"I like him playing in the All-Star Game, personally. I think this is a rare case where he's ready to play and the All-Star Game is probably the safest venue for him to play. I think it will just be a good thing for him to get up and down. It allows him to go up and down in an NBA game with really good players that don't play defense in the game so I think that would be very good."
Paul was doing exceptional before his injury, having MVP-like numbers with about 20 points, 11 assists and five rebounds averaged per game.
