The lone caveat to Chris Paul’s heroic Game 7 performance against the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday night was the physical toll on Paul’s body, specifically his hamstring.
Paul left Game 7 in the first half after initially aggravating his hamstring. He would return to the game and be all that the Clippers needed and more, but he was visibly still struggling in the second half, which made his efforts that much more impressive. The Clippers will face the Houston Rockets in the next round with Game 1 to be played on Monday night. Given Paul’s status, Clippers head coach Doc Rivers thinks his point guard may not be able to go in Game 1.
via Marc Spears of Yahoo Sports:
Based on how Rivers also sounded, it will be surprising if Paul is available for Game 1 of the Clippers’ second-round series against the Houston Rockets on Monday night.
“Chris may play or may not play the first game, but the game is Monday … my guess right now if I had to guess, I would say no,” Rivers said.
Without Paul, the Clippers would knowingly be at a major disadvantage to start the series. Their bench actually came up big for them in spurts in the first-round, but Austin Rivers and Lester Hudson are the only available guard reserves should Paul sit out Game 1.
When Paul was out in the first half of Game 7 on Saturday, Rivers used Jamal Crawford as the primary ball handler, which worked well because they could still create offense.
Paul credited the Clippers training staff in his post-game interview after Game 7. They’ll have lots more work to do in preserving Paul and also Blake Griffin if the Clippers are to continue on their playoff run. If my guess counts for anything, Paul will be suiting up for Game 1 in Houston on Monday.
