NBA notebook: Paul reportedly out two-three weeks

[December 22, 2018]  The Houston Rockets were prepared for the worst after point guard Chris Paul left Thursday's game with a left hamstring injury, but he apparently will miss just two to three weeks, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Friday, citing league sources.

Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni said after the game that Paul would be out for "some time." Paul was scheduled to have an MRI exam on Friday.

The injury occurred with 6:43 left in the second quarter, after Paul had played 12 minutes and scored four points. The Rockets lost to Miami, 101-99.

--Kristaps Porzingis will not return from his torn ACL before mid-February 2019, New York Knicks president Steve Mills said. But beyond that, Mills can't predict when -- or if -- the star forward will return this season.

The team also issued a statement updating the condition of Porzingis, who tore his left ACL in February. The statement said Porzingis' progress recently was assessed by team medical staff and he was on target with his healing and rehabilitation. "Once he reaches the remaining rehab benchmarks, he will advance to on-court team drills and activities," the statement read.

Mills told reporters that he wouldn't put a timetable on Porzingis' return.

--Milwaukee Bucks veteran reserve forward Ersan Ilyasova will be out indefinitely following what was deemed as successful surgery on his broken nose, the team announced.

The injury occurred during a team practice Sunday.

--Lakers forward LeBron James was a game-time decision for Los Angeles' Friday night contest against the New Orleans Pelicans because of an illness, coach Luke Walton told reporters at the mid-day shootaround.
 

Dec 19, 2018; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets guard Chris Paul (3) shoots the ball during the first half against the Washington Wizards at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

James didn't attend the shootaround because he was getting extra sleep, Walton said.

Center JaVale McGee was dealing with the flu and was to miss his third straight game. Centers Tyson Chandler and Ivica Zubac also were under the weather, but their statuses weren't announced.

--James' recent comments about how it would be "amazing" to play with New Orleans Pelicans star Anthony Davis have upset general managers around the NBA, according to an ESPN report.

Small-market general managers told ESPN they feel James' expressed adulation about possibly playing on the same Lakers' team with Davis was tampering and that the league office should enforce the NBA bylaw that prohibits such comments.

"Each case is assessed on its own facts," an NBA spokesman told ESPN. "In general, absent evidence of team coordination or other aggravating factors, it is not tampering when a player makes a comment about his interest in playing with another team's player."

--Field Level Media

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