Appearing in the competitive Western Conference playoffs for the 13th time in his 16-year career, Chris Paul is just four wins away from advancing to the NBA Finals for the first time after leading the Phoenix Suns to series wins in the first two rounds of the playoffs.
With LeBron James and the Lakers already out — thanks to Paul and the Suns’ handiwork in the first round of the postseason — and the Clippers now playing without All-Star Kawhi Leonard due to a knee injury that could sideline him for the rest of the postseason, Phoenix has an excellent shot at making it to the finals and maybe even winning the whole damn thing.
At least that’s how it appeared until word came down early on Wednesday that Paul has entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols and is sidelined for an indefinite period of time due to COVID-19 safety measures.
It’s a devastating blow for Paul (who may or may not be vaccinated), who had a great shot at making the finals in 2018 when his Rockets held a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference finals over the Golden State Warriors but couldn’t help Houston close it out in Games 6 and 7 because of a strained hamstring.
Now Paul’s status is up in the air for the start of the Western Conference finals. “The protocols are the league’s playbook for handling all matters related to the coronavirus this season,” per ESPN. “There have been examples of players missing multiple weeks after positive COVID-19 tests; there have also been examples of players missing very short amounts of time for matters such as contact tracing investigations.” If a player displays symptoms, they “may be subject to quarantine” regardless of their vaccination status.
Averaging 15.7 points, 8.7 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game and shooting the ball very efficiently while keeping his turnover to a minimum through 10 playoff games, Paul had a season-high 37 points in Sunday’s series-clinching 125-118 win over the Denver Nuggets.
Paul’s Suns will face the winner of the Jazz-Clippers series, which is tied 2-2 and will continue tonight. LA will be without Leonard for Game 5 and very likely at least Game 6 on Friday. A potential Game 7 would be played Sunday and Paul and the Suns have to be rooting hard for the series to go the distance in order to give him as much time as possible to clear the NBA’s safety protocols. If he doesn’t, it’d be a shame (but also on-brand).
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