ROCKETS REPORT Decision to sit Paul was not even close
The biggest game of Chris
Paul’s career went on without him, his faint hope to play in Game 7 on Monday night extinguished before his injured hamstring could improve enough to make it a tough decision.
Paul, who had orchestrated the trade to the Rockets in search of the championship chance he did not have in the first 12 years of his stellar career, was unable to make a long-shot, rapid recovery just four days after he limped off the floor late in Game 5. It did not seem to be close.
“I don’t know about a close call,” coach Mike D’Antoni said. “There was just no way. Everybody came to the same conclusion. There’s no way.”
For Paul, 33, the injury is a particularly cruel twist of fortune, coming in his first appearance in the Western Conference finals, but after many seasons that were ended early when he or his teammates went out with injuries that seemed to keep them from their potential.
“I’m sure he’s way down, devastated,” D’Antoni said before Monday’s game. “Like us all, he’s probably excited about the game. Let’s get the win and get him back and go on. It’s the worst thing that could happen to him. But he’ll make it.”
D’Antoni said Paul “kind of ” tested the hamstring Monday, but that it was clear Paul needed to sit out.
“He couldn’t explode at all,” D’Antoni said. “He couldn’t push off on it. Not ready. I knew it was a long shot when it happened. Just got to take care of it. It’s going to be a little bit.”
Paul had averaged 21.1 points and 5.8 assists in the playoffs, 19.8 points and 4.6 points in the series against the Warriors, helping to drive the Rockets to their wins in games 4 and 5.
“He’s one of the best players in the league, so you take him away from them and it’s a huge loss for them,” Warriors coach
Steve Kerr said. “That doesn’t mean they’re not capable. They’ve got great players. Eric
Gordon’s had a great series, they’ve got other guys that can step up and score. But it’s a big loss.
“That’s part of the playoffs, unfortunately, for a lot of teams. We’re still without Andre (Iguodala), which is a big blow for us. In a different way. He’s not a scorer for us as Chris is for Houston, but a huge component. So you go through the playoffs and things happen, and you’ve got to be able to bounce back no matter what and keep going.”
Albert reflects on Reed’s game
The uncertainty about Chris
Paul’s potential return to the floor was familiar to at least one observer, at least until the decision was made that Paul would be out. If TNT broadcaster Marv Albert had forgotten Willis Reed’s dramatic appearance in Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals, he was reminded when he was asked about it Monday.
“That was the Finals, so that’s different,” said Albert, who did the live radio broadcast of the game when the television broadcast was shown only on tape delay. “I was doing a pregame show and I interviewed Willis prior to the game and he told me, ‘I got my shot’ and there was no question he was going to play.
“It was mostly radio in those days. There was hardly any TV. He came out late. The Lakers stopped (warming up). Wilt (
Chamberlain) stared in disbelief because it was felt he wasn’t going to play. He missed the previous game in L.A. They got blown. When they came out, the fans were pretty down. That was one of the loudest roars I ever heard when he came out on the court.”
Reed, who had a torn thigh muscle, played 27 minutes and hit his first two shots, sending Madison Square Garden into hysterics. Walt Frazier dominated the game, scoring 37 points with 19 assists and seven rebounds. His steals were not kept as an official stat.
Curry sticks up for other Cavaliers
As remarkable as Stephen
Curry found LeBron James’ Game 7 performance Sunday, he pushed back at the notion James dragged an undermanned team to the Finals.
“I hate when people say that,” Curry said. “They’re NBA players. And yeah, they’re new and Bron is amazing. He played an unbelievable playoff run to date and willed his team to eight straight Finals, which is unbelievable to think about the consistency, the longevity and his level of greatness he has shown in the Eastern Conference.
“As a basketball fan to turn on the TV last night and watch the game and didn’t know how it was going to turn out and they got it done. So, shout out to him. It was an amazing performance, but don’t disrespect other guys out there. They fought hard, too.”
Iguodala misses 4th straight game
The Warriors on Monday were without forward Iguodala, Andre
out for a fourth consecutive game with a left leg bruise as he has continued to struggle to bounce back since a collision with James Harden in Game 3.
“He’s frustrated, he’s totally frustrated,” coach Steve Kerr said.