Thumb injury for Clippers’ guard Chris Paul ‘not that serious’

Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul is dealing with a thumb issue, but he has apparently avoided a serious injury.

The Los Angeles Clippers lack depth off the bench, so an injury to any prominent player is automatically significant (see Blake Griffin last season). Point guard Chris Paul sustained a left thumb injury during last Saturday’s practice, which kept him out of Monday night’s preseason game against the Utah Jazz, but he appears to have avoided a significant injury.

Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Clippers’ head coach Doc Rivers suggested Paul’s injury is “not that serious” and he would only miss one of the team’s two remaining preseason games. That leaves Tuesday night against the Sacramento Kings as the only remaining option now, and even with Rivers’ prior sentiment it’s unclear if Paul will suit up for a meaningless game.

This is Paul’s second hand injury in the past six months or so. He suffered a broken bone in his right hand during the Clippers’ playoff series against the Portland Trail Blazers last spring, and underwent surgery.

Paul is coming off another All-Star season in 2015-16, when he averaged 19.5 points, 10.0 assists, 4.2 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game over 74 contests. But it’s worth noting he has played more than 75 games just twice in the last seven seasons, and just once in five seasons with the Clippers. It’s a stretch to call Paul injury-prone, particularly with the fluke nature of his recent two hand injuries, but at 31 years old any possible durability concerns will only grow.

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Rivers’ optimism has to be expected, but at this point Paul is fully expected to be ready for the Clippers’ season opener Oct. 27 at Portland. To that end, it would be surprising if he is actually in uniform for the team’s preseason finale Tuesday night.