Paul's 'bump' might be more serious than Rockets say

HOUSTON - Houston Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni downplayed the seriousness of point guard Chris Paul's knee injury, but it was reported on Friday that he could miss up to four weeks.

"It's only a bump," D'Antoni told reporters as he revealed Paul would sit out Saturday's home opener against the Dallas Mavericks.

"It's not a tear or something like that. It's a bruise. We just have to make sure he's 100 percent the next time he plays.

"I don't think there's concern. All indications are he should be OK."

But the New York Times and ESPN were among the outlets reporting Paul could be sidelined for a month. ESPN, citing unnamed sources, said the team had been making inquiries about acquiring a fill-in point guard.

Paul, a nine-time All-Star, joined the Rockets over the off-season via a trade from the Los Angeles Clippers.

His acquisition, along with newcomers Luc Mbah a Moute and PJ Tucker, was aimed at giving superstar James Harden more support as the Rockets seek to challenge the Golden State Warriors' supremacy in the Western Conference.

Paul was injured when he banged knees with Memphis Grizzlies guard Mario Chalmers in a preseason game, then aggravated it in Tuesday's season-opening triumph over the Warriors.

He scored just four points and handed out 11 assists and sat out the Rockets' game at Sacramento the following night.

Lin out for season

Chinese-American Jeremy Lin will miss the rest of the NBA season, the Brooklyn Nets confirmed on Friday after the guard underwent surgery.

Lin ruptured a patella tendon in his right knee when he landed awkwardly during New Jersey's opening game of the season on Wednesday.

The 29-year-old had surgery in New York on Friday, which the Nets deemed successful.

"Lin will miss the remainder of this season, but is expected to make a full recovery," the team said on its website.

On Twitter, Lin posted a picture of himself in hospital, wearing his surgical gown.

"Thanks for all the love and support!! Blown away at everyone's kindness," he wrote.

Lin's absence is a bitter blow to the Nets, who already were projected to be one of the league's cellar dwellers.

The first American of Chinese descent to be a starter in the NBA, Lin was born in northern California to parents who moved to the US from Taiwan.

He went from an obscure professional player to an overnight sensation in 2012 when he led a winning turnaround for his former team, the New York Knicks.

He averaged 20.9 points and 8.4 assists per game in February of that year while leading the Knicks to 10 wins in a 13-game stretch that overwhelmed New York City and caught the imagination of basketball fans around the globe.

Lin was the second bigname NBA player to sustain a likely season-ending injury in his team's opening game of the season.

On Tuesday, Boston's newly-acquired All-Star forward Gordon Hayward dislocated his left ankle and fractured his tibia in a collision under the basket with LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

AFP

(China Daily 10/22/2017 page11)