2 min read • February 20, 2022
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Suns guard Chris Paul told the media on Saturday afternoon that he expects to miss time with the right thumb injury he suffered earlier that week.
Based on available video combined with Paul’s extensive hand injury problems, the ProBasketballDocs anticipate the 36-year-old point guard to miss multiple weeks with the apparent sprain.
He will return to the Suns before the end of the regular season.
The 12-time all-star is slated to play in Sunday's All-Star Game for Team LeBron and continue to lead the 48-10 Suns in their search for a repeat Finals berth out of the break next Thursday.
Paul was seen by reporters donning a soft cast on his right hand often used for supporting thumb MCP joint instability. The MCP joint, or metacarpophalangeal joint, is at the first knuckle, the meeting point of the hand and finger joints.
The handy veteran suffered the apparent sprain when he jammed his thumb into Jae’sean Tate’s arm attempting to throw a one-handed dart pass early in the 3rd quarter. He was ejected 8 seconds later for arguing that he was fouled on the play.
It is not clear on video whether Paul injured his RCL or UCL, although it is assuredly at the base of the thumb.
He previously injured the RCL, or radial collateral ligament, in his right hand but the more common injury is to the UCL, or ulnar collateral ligament. Paul missed 14 games after tearing the UCL in his left thumb in Jan. 2017.
Paul later partially tore ligaments in his right hand in the 2021 playoffs, although he never revealed to reporters the specifics of the injury and played through it into the Finals while donning finger tape on his index and middle fingers.
Regardless, the hope is that it is not a grade 3 tear, which would mean a long absence and potential surgery for the 17-year veteran.
The best-case scenario for Paul is a minor sprain that he recovers from after a couple of weeks of immobilization.
Luckily, he will have a built-in week of rest and recovery with the all-star break this weekend, likely lessening the time Phoenix will be without it's offensive engine and unequivocal leader.
Paul has been an unlikely ironman for the No. 1 seed Suns, starting in all 58 games this season while averaging 14.9 points and a league-high 10.7 assists in 33 minutes per game, his highest since he was 29 years old and playing for the Clippers.
Ironically, right as Paul goes to the bench, backup point guard Cameron Payne is expected to return from a sprained right thumb that has kept him out for the last 12 games. While he will absorb some of the playmaking role, it will also be split with Elfrid Payton and newly-acquired Aaron Holiday.
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