Fantasy Spin: Chris Paul Down and Out

Leave it to me to go ahead and write the following words less than 48 hours ago: "if you're worried about Chris Paul -- don't be." In all fairness, that was meant as a bit of reassurance that Paul would not let the Byron Scott firing affect the way he plays on the court. Now let me say this: If you're worried about Chris Paul, you're only human.

On Friday night Paul went down with a severe ankle injury that has knocked him out for up to two weeks, possibly more. So what can we do in his absence?

The first thing you need to do is go and pick up rookie point guard Darren Collison. No, he won't "replace" Paul, but his Friday performance after the injury looked rather promising. Collison finished the gamed with 18 points on 7-of-14 shooting with two assists and two steals. At the very least you can slot him into your lineup next week with the Hornets on the schedule for four games: home to the Clippers, Suns, Hawks, and at the Heat.

Collison, though, was known more for his leadership and intangibles in college, and less for his ability to take over games. His upside may be limited, but at this point you have to take what you can get.

Marcus Thornton is another guy worth looking at. He probably has the best scoring instincts of any of the remaining guards in New Orleans. On Friday night Thornton scored a career-high 20 points on 8-of-15 shooting with two threes and a steal. Again, with four games next week if might be worth rolling the dice on Thornton, who will provide an offensive boost in Paul's absence.

Rafer Alston's triple-double on Friday night against the Magic shot him up to the top of the free agent list. He scored 17 points on 7-of-20 shooting with 10 rebounds, 10 assists, and a three-pointer. Unfortunately you'll have to live with his poor efficiency from the floor, but aside from that he hasn't been too bad filling in for Devin Harris. At the very least you know he's going to get 40 minutes a night from a guy who'll try his best to pad his stat-line. That's what every fantasy owner looks for in a player, isn't it?

Toney Douglas has point guard eligibility and has been a hot add of late. Even with Nate Robinson back, Douglas still managed to play 28 minutes on Friday night, scoring 15 points on 7-of-16 shooting with three rebounds, three assists, and a steal. That marks the fourth straight game in which Douglas has scored at least 15 points. The Knicks play 11 games over the next three weeks, which is tied for tops in the league over that span.

Beno Udrih has been fantastic in his new role as the starting point guard for the Kings. Not only have the Kings won four straight since he was named the starter, but Udrih has averaged 17.3 points, 4.3 assists, 3.3 rebounds, 1.3 three-pointers, 55.8-percent shooting from the field and 85.7-percent shooting from the free-throw line. There's no reason why he's available in over 70-percent of fantasy leagues.

You'll never be able to replace Chris Paul. Not even if Steve Nash is available on your waiver wires. For now the best you can do is hope that he returns in two weeks and by then you haven't lost much ground in the standings. Good luck with that.