The Houston Rockets are set to take the court for the home opener without the services of All-Star point guard Chris Paul, which will mark the second straight game missed.
However, it appears that it could much longer than that as Marc Stein of The New York Times is reporting that Paul could be out of the lineup for the next month due to his current knee injury.
There are fears that Chris Paul's knee problem could sideline him for a month in Houston, according to league sources
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) October 20, 2017
The 32-year-old has continued to deal with soreness in his left knee since he collided with Memphis Grizzlies veteran guard Mario Chalmers in preseason action back on Oct. 11. Paul managed to play through the injury in the season opener against the Golden State Warriors, but it affected his performance on the floor notching just four points on 2-of-9 shooting from the field along with recording 11 assists and rebound rebounds.
If Paul were to be sidelined for an extended period of time, fellow All-Star guard James Harden would assume the primary ball-handling duties in his absence. Harden had excelled in that role last season as he led the league with a career-high 11.2 assists per game.
He has also continued to carry that high level of production through the first two games this season where he's averaging 27.0 points with 9.5 assists and 4.5 rebounds per contest. This latest development could also result in reigning Sixth Man of the Year Eric Gordon being put in the starting lineup until Paul makes his return.
Gordon has also been an offensive spark plug for the Rockets averaging 24.5 points through the first two games, including dropping 25 points in his spot start Wednesday night's win against the Sacramento Kings.
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