Chris Paul has said that he would like to be able to return from a shoulder injury in time for the All-Star game.
The Los Angeles Clippers point guard suffered a separated right shoulder at the start of the month, which was expected to keep him out for up to six weeks.
The 28-year-old told ESPN: "If I can play, I'm going to play, I love to play that much. The All-Star Game is in New Orleans and that's part of me. That's where I played my very first All-Star game at. Anytime you have that opportunity, I'm not going to pass that up because it's not guaranteed to happen next year.
"I think the goal is to make sure I get healthy. Everybody knows how eager I am to get back and play and stuff like that, but at the end of the day you have to look at the big picture. When I'm ready, you'll know.
"I feel better. I'm still trying to get the range of motion where I want it at. Right now, the only good thing about this thing is nothing happened to my legs so I've been able to do conditioning."
The starters for next month's game are due to be announced later today.
Sian Cowper
