Chris Paul Suffering from a Mild Left Groin Strain


Compounding the pain and misery of last night’s loss in Atlanta, the Clippers’ superstar point guard suffered a mild left groin strain. Per the LA Times: “Chris Paul limped out of the Clippers’ training room Tuesday night, his mild left groin strain causing as much pain as his team’s inexplicable performance against the Atlanta Hawks. He took the blame for the Clippers’ 109-102 loss to the Hawks at Philips Arena, saying it was his job to have his teammates ready for a game that had so much importance. Clippers Coach Vinny Del Negro was upset his team didn’t play better, knowing it would have clinched at least fourth place in the West and the home-court advantage over the Memphis Grizzlies, whom they now will face in a first-round Western Conference playoff series. A victory also would kept alive the Clippers’ chances of overtaking overtake the Lakers for third place in the West. Now the Clippers need to beat New York on Wednesday night in their regular-season finale or hope Memphis loses to Orlando on Thursday to host the playoff opener against the Grizzlies at Staples Center this weekend. And the Clippers will need to do it with Paul not being 100%. He had 34 points against the Hawks and Blake Griffin scored 36, his season high. The Clippers official listed Paul as questionable for Wednesday. ‘I’m all right,’ Paul said. ‘At some point, something didn’t feel right, but I’ll be OK. I’ll be ready to go as soon as they throw that all up.'”