The potential look of the upcoming Western Conference Finals just changed significantly.
As first reported by Shams Charania of The Athletic, Phoenix Suns star guard Chris Paul has entered the NBA’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols and will be sidelined indefinitely.
Per Charania, and depending on the circumstance, the isolation period could be shorter for a vaccinated individual, but for the time being Paul is in danger of not being on the court when the Suns face the winner of the Utah Jazz-LA Clippers semifinal series.
The 36-year old Paul was excellent in the Suns’ recent sweep of the Denver Nuggets and league MVP Nikola Jokic. Paul scored a season-high 37 points in Sunday’s Game 4 and series-clinching victory. He finished the series with 41 assists and only five turnovers, averaging 25.5 points with 10.3 assists while shooting 62.9% from the field.
On Tuesday night, Paul was named Second-Team All-NBA, along with Portland’s Damian Lillard, New York’s Julius Randle, Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James and Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid.
Paul averaged 15.7 points, 8.7 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game in the regular season and finished fifth in MVP voting.