Chris Paul’s stat line in his first game back from injury doesn’t exactly jump out at you when you look at the boxscore. Eleven points and three assists in 21 minutes isn’t special, and neither is the fact that Paul was one of only two Hornets to post a negative plus/minus.
Chris Paul Looks Rusty Early, Sharper Late In Return From Injury
But as SB Nation’s Hornets blog At The Hive reminds us, it’s important that Paul did most of his damage late in the game, once he worked off the rust from his injury. It might not have been Paul’s best game, but having him back was huge all the same.
In case you missed it, some guy named “Chris” started tonight. Everyone was making a big deal out of him despite the fact that he finished the night as one of only 2 Bees on the bad side of +/- (edging out Okafor for second-to-worst). He did land 3 of his 5 shots from downtown, but he only managed 3 assists to his 2 turnovers. I mean... ok, I can’t keep this up: it was nice to see CP back on the court. He didn’t figure to be a huge part of the gameplan (he only played 21 minutes), but he was out there all the same. He took a little while to get settled, but during the second half (when he scored all of his points), he looked sharp as ever.
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