Suns’ Chris Paul Diagnosed With Fractured Thumb Injury, Will Miss at Least 6-8 Weeks

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Phoenix Suns point guard Chris Paul
suffered an avulsion fracture of his right thumb and will be sidelined for approximately two months.

TNT’s Allie LaForce revealed as much during the pregame coverage of Sunday’s All-Star Game and noted Paul will be reevaluated in six-to-eight weeks even though he plans on playing a few minutes in the exhibition contest.

Although the Suns put a strong
foundation in place with Devin Booker, Deandre Ayton and Mikal
Bridges, their emergence as an NBA championship contender coincided
with Paul’s arrival in a trade from the Oklahoma City Thunder ahead
of the 2020-21 season.

They reached last year’s NBA Finals
before falling short against the Milwaukee Bucks and are squarely in
the mix once again. Paul continues to produce at a high level,
averaging 14.9 points, 10.7 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 1.9 steals in
58 appearances this season.

Injuries have been a rather consistent
factor in the 36-year-old Wake Forest product’s decorated career—he’s only played a full 82-game season once—but he’s been most
durable since arriving in Phoenix despite this injury.

The Suns are rolling toward a high seed
in the 2022 Western Conference playoffs, so they can afford to remain
conservative with any injuries Paul deals with down the stretch.
They’ll need him as close to 100 percent as possible for the
postseason.