Subscribe
Follow Us
When the Houston Rockets take the floor for Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals against the Golden State Warriors, the team will be without the services of All-Star point guard Chris Paul due to a right hamstring injury.
It puts him out of the mix for possibly the biggest game of his career with the chance to earn his first trip to the NBA Finals on the line. According to Anthony Slater of The Athletic, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr voiced his sympathy toward Paul who's dealing with an untimely and familiar injury.
Kerr on the Paul injury: "More than anything, I feel bad for Chris. He's been haunted by these injuries throughout his career. It's a shame."
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) May 26, 2018
This is quite an unfortunate time for Paul to have a hamstring injury occur during the late stage of the playoffs in what has been the most successful trip that has seen him finally get past the second round of the postseason. What has been most impressive is that Paul has stepped up his game in the playoffs where he has been arguably the Rockets' most important and influential player on both ends of the floor.
In the Western Conference Finals, he has been the team's consistent offensive factor averaging 19.8 points per game that have seen him knock down multiple 3-pointers in all but one contest. His performance has been vital with James Harden who had a streak of 20-consecutive missed 3-pointers heading into Game 6 on Saturday night. This includes scoring 18 of Paul's 20 points in the Game 5 win in the pivotal second half.
His absence from the contest could lead to another shift in the series with the Rockets being without one of their primary offensive weapons on the floor. It could allow for the Warriors to get back on stride to being the league's most potent offense behind the production of their four All-Stars leading the way. Only time will tell how much impact this injury to Paul will have the rest of the series.
