Sam Amick

USA TODAY Sports

It's time to put the violins away.

No more sob stories about how the NBA season has become a game of musical chairs inside the emergency room. No more pouring salt in this collective wound by lamenting the forced absence of so many All-Stars during what was supposed to be such a special season. It is what it is, as they say, and it's time to take a cold, calculated look at what it all means.

Here's a look focusing on players who were either recently injured or who may be coming back soon.

Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers

LeBron James or Kevin Durant likely will win the NBA Most Valuable Player Award, but no team is as utterly dependant on the leadership and skill-set of one player as the Clippers are with Paul.

So when he went down with a shoulder injury Friday night against the Dallas Mavericks, it's safe to say everything changed for this Western Conference team that's trying to become elite. It's a Grade 3 AC joint separation. The good news for the Clippers is he doesn't need surgery. The bad news is, he'll be out six weeks.

It didn't take long to see the incredible impact this will have on the team that has gone 9-9 without him in the past three seasons and was 22-13 (fourth in the Western Conference) when he went down. The Clippers were routed 116-92 Saturday night by the reigning West champion San Antonio Spurs.

Former backup Darren Collison took over for Paul and had 14 points and six assists — not shabby but a long way from the typical production provided by Paul, who averages 19.6 points, a league-high 11.6 assists per game.

The likely price to be paid here for the Clippers is home-court advantage in the playoffs, and that's no small cost considering the lofty expectations these Clippers had with new coach Doc Rivers entering the season. Paul will be back in plenty of time for a postseason push, but this is a serious obstacle to their championship hopes.

Marc Gasol, Memphis Grizzlies

It's always better to be dealt the bitter blow earlier rather than later, which is why the Grizzlies will be an interesting case study in the second half of the season. Reigning Defensive Player of the Year Marc Gasol went down with a Grade 2 medial collateral ligament sprain on Nov. 22, and there were fears within the organization that he may miss as much as 10 weeks.

Gasol is a different kind of one-man show for Memphis, the anchor of the Grizzlies' defense and a versatile part of their limited offense. Gasol may be within two weeks of a return and Memphis still has time for a turnaround. The Grizzlies, who reached the Western Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history last season but swapped Lionel Hollins for rookie coach Dave Joerger during the offseason, are 15-18 and four games out of the eighth and final playoff spot.

Rajon Rondo, Boston Celtics

It's been nearly a year since the four-time All-Star tore his ACL in a double-overtime game against the Miami Heat. And finally, Rondo is almost back.

This will be an entirely new sort of challenge for the 27-year-old who may make his return within the next few weeks. First-year coach Brad Stevens has made a seamless transition from Butler to the NBA, connecting with the revamped roster while fielding a far more competitive team than was expected. The Celtics (13-20) only recently fell out of playoff position. It's a good time to get Rondo back, but he may try to work himself back into shape with the Celtics' NBA Development League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws, first before resuming his familiar role in Boston.

Stevens and Rondo appear to have clicked on a personal level in their limited time working together, but time will tell if their partnership is the one that will last for the long-term or if Rondo will become the last piece of those memorable Celtics teams to go. The New York Knicks and Sacramento Kings, among many others, are known to covet the point guard, but Boston continues to insist that he's going nowhere before the Feb. 20 trade deadline. Rondo is owed a combined $25 million for this season and next on his contract.

Los Angeles Lakers point guards

The injury bug certainly didn't stop with Kobe Bryant, who already fought his way back from his April Achilles tear but now is out until late January or early February after fracturing his left knee in mid-December. Point guards Steve Nash (nerve root irritation), Steve Blake (elbow ligament tear), and Jordan Farmar (hamstring tear) are all out as well. Enter Kendall Marshall, the recently signed second-year point guard who has a chance to become the next Jeremy Lin playing under Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni.

The University of North Carolina product and former Phoenix Suns lottery pick (No. 13) was cut by the Washington Wizards earlier this season, then was forced to play in the D-League as he plotted his road back to the NBA. Then in his first start with the Lakers on Friday night, he set new career highs in points (20), assists (15) and rebounds (six) while giving up just one turnover in a win against the Utah Jazz.