Rockets point guard Paul ruled out for Game 6 against Warriors
HOUSTON — On the surface, everything seemed fine.
Rockets guard Chris Paul sauntered into the practice facility on Friday. He smiled and laughed with teammates as he walked to the court. He bantered some more during warm-ups. The Rockets have a 3-2 series lead over the Warriors in the Western Conference Finals.
Beneath the surface, though, not everything is fine.
The Rockets ruled out Paul for Game 6 of the Western Conference finals against the Golden State Warriors on Saturday after an MRI confirmed a strained right hamstring. Although Paul will travel with the Rockets to Oakland in hopes to see the Rockets close the series out against the Warriors, the Rockets do not know his status for a possible Game 7 on Monday.
“Obviously, it’s not something we wanted. We hate it for him above all else,” Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said. “He’s practically won us the last two games. But it’s a great opportunity for other guys.”
Rockets guard Eric Gordon will start in Paul’s place, while Luc Mbah a Moute and Ryan Anderson might play more. Though Gordon shot only 6 of 15 from the field, he scored 10 of 24 points off the bench in the fourth quarter. Gordon made all two of his shot attempts and all five free-throw attempts. Gordon also retrieved a loose ball with 2.7 seconds remaining after Warriors guard Stephen Curry threw a bobbled pass to forward Draymond Green, which hit off his right knee. Gordon then made two foul shots to clinch the win.
“I’ll continue to attack and try to take what the defence gives me,” Gordon said. “I’m looking forward to it.”
The Rockets are not exactly looking forward toward playing without Paul for obvious reasons. He posted 27 points on 10-for-20 shooting in the Rockets’ 95-92 Game 4 win on Tuesday to tie the series, 2-2. Though he shot only 6 of 19 from the field in Game 5, Paul scored 18 of his 20 points in the second half.
But after pulling up for a spin move against Warriors guard Quinn Cook, Paul fell on the ground and favoured his right hamstring as the Rockets held a 95-94 lead with 51.7 seconds left. He stayed on the ground while the Warriors moved in transition, resulting in an open Cook 3-pointer that hit off the rim with 49.9 seconds left.
Paul has an extensive injury history during the playoffs. Despite suffering a left hamstring injury in Game 7 of the first round of the 2015 post-season, Paul helped the Los Angeles Clippers beat the San Antonio Spurs with a last-second shot. But then Paul missed the first two games of the Western Conference semifinals against the Memphis Grizzlies. In the 2016 playoffs, Paul broke a bone in his right hand in Game 4 of the Clippers’ first-round series against Portland. The Clippers fell to the Trail Blazers in six games after nursing a 2-0 series lead.
“It’s tough. We don’t want to just be down on it. We don’t want him to come and be pouting around,” Rockets guard James Harden said. “We want to keep our same swag and positive energy. We have to feed off of him as well. Be happy and be ready. Get this thing right and get this thing going.”
Harden saw some encouraging signs that will happen.
Harden said he visited Paul at his Houston residence after the game and talked until about 2:30 a.m. on Friday. Before practice started, Paul bantered with teammates and coaches. And for better and for worse, the Rockets remember the Spurs eliminating them in six games in the 2017 Western Conference semifinals despite Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard missing Game 7 with a sprained left ankle.
“I’m just getting over that,” D’Antoni jokingly teased a reporter. “Now you want me back on the couch for a while?”