Chris Paul left New Orleans' 102-86 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night after hurting his shoulder in a third-quarter collision -- the latest in a string of injuries for the young point guard.
Paul slammed into 7-foot-3, 305-pound Blazers center Ha Seung-Jin, with 6:17 left in the third quarter and remained on the floor for a few moments, kicking his legs in pain. Already wearing a flak jacket to protect his bruised left ribs, Paul grabbed at his left shoulder, which made contact with Ha and then with the floor as he rolled to the ground.
He put ice on the shoulder, then pulled his warmup top over his jersey and remained on the bench for the rest of the game.
"His body needs this," Snyder said. "It's kind of good because he's a big part of our team. We've won some games without him, but we kind of need him. We know we need him for the stretch. This just gives him time to rest and other guys to rest, too."