New Orleans Hornets May Be Without Paul For Two Months

Sports News - February 1st, 2010 - Written By John Ritter

New Orleans Hornets point guard Chris Paul will not be making his third All-Star appearance.

Team officials announced on Sunday that has torn cartilage in his knee and will be out at least until the mid-season exhibition, and possibly a month more. That would mean the team could be without it's heart until March, putting it's already teetering NBA season on life-support.

Paul will need arthroscopic surgery to repair the damage. He originally sprained his knee last Wednesday when he was trying to make a quick move against the Golden State Warriors. But the big blow came when he further damaged the joints when scrambling for a possession of an escaped ball against the Chicago Bulls.

There will be plenty of season left to make a charge when he comes back, but the Hornets will certainly be behind the eight ball as they compete to even stay in the middle of it's division, only one game ahead of both the Memphis Grizzlies and Houston Rockets. The sixth and 11th spots in the Western Conference Standings are only separated by two games.

Paul is one of only two players (Steve Nash) who is averaging double-digit points (20.4) and assists (11.2) this season.

New Orleans has already had to play without their point guard earlier in the year, and went 4-4 when Paul was nursing an ankle injury.

It is believed the Chauncey Billups will replace Paul on the Western All-Star roster. Billups was left off the initial team despite averaging 19.3 points and 6.1 assists per game for the Denver Nuggets, who are currently second in the West.