But aren’t we all?
While the injury itself sounds scary, the Golden State Warriors ultimately got good news on the injury that forced Chris Paul out of Tuesday night’s meltdown loss to the Sacramento Kings.
Golden State’s Chris Paul (lower leg nerve contusion) is expected to be day-to-day in his return to play, sources tell ESPN. The Warriors are listing him out vs. the Clippers on Thursday.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 30, 2023
CP3 has a “lower leg nerve contusion,” which truly sounds awful. Especially when, hypothetically, you’re a freelance Warriors writer who Googles “nerve contusion” because he doesn’t exactly know what the term means, and the search engine spits back “People Also Ask: How long does it take for a nerve contusion to heal?” and the answer is “6-12 weeks.”
To be fair, that result comes from a plastic surgeon in New Zealand who specializes in reconstructing hands, so it might not be the most applicable information. (Confidential to Google Search: Get it together. You’ve been coasting for years. You’ll never make the knockout round of the in-season tournament with that complacent attitude!)
Officially, Chris Paul is day-to-day, and look, so are all of us just trying to make it in a world that’s constantly contusing us. Honestly, my own nerves have been contused since watching the Warriors throw the ball away down the stretch in the final seconds in their loss to the Kings, possibly trying to score seven unanswered points and instead blowing a five-point lead. But that’s my lower brain, not my lower leg.
But the Warriors will be without Paul when they face his old team, the LA Clippers, on Thursday night. It’s shame, because Steve Kerr loves to give his players big minutes against their old teams and Klay Thompson loves shouting, “They didn’t want you!” to fire up the player.
This means we’re likely to see significant playing time for former NBA champion Cory Joseph. It also means Paul will be on the bench in street clothes, and thus won’t have to limp out of the tunnel to share his veteran wisdom with his teammates.
chris paul limping out to tell steph and dray about something(s) he saw in the third quarter is among the most chris paul things ever pic.twitter.com/UJ2qf1TClW
— Dan Favale (@danfavale) November 29, 2023
We’re pretty sure Paul said, “Draymond, don’t flop for no reason and then lose your mind for five minutes. And Steph, if Steve tries to take out Moses Moody when he’s red-hot, please punch him in the face.”
So Paul is day-to-day, no matter what those quacks in Dunedin might tell you. It might mean the Warriors’ worst tendencies when it comes to turnovers will come out. But maybe, just maybe, the team will rally behind the hobbled Paul and decide to Not Throw The Ball Away In Crunch Time For The Gipper.