Las Vegas Indicates Chris Paul Will Not Play In Game 6
The line opened for game 6 between Golden State and Houston. Right now the Warriors are favored by 10.5 – which is the largest spread for the series. What that means? Sure, Golden State is at home and Vegas expects the Warriors to win down 3-2, but it also shows what they are thinking with Chris Paul.
Paul injured his hamstring late in Game 5, which unfortunately is now the second time this happened in the playoffs either during or after the biggest play/game of his career. The other time? When he was on the Clippers in 2015 and beat the Spurs in Game 7 with this spot:
It is worth noting that Paul said he plans on playing tomorrow, but as everyone knows athletes always say things like that, especially right after the moment happens. D’Antoni and Ariza sounded more skeptical than Paul and Vegas obviously does as well.
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There are two lines of thinking here. One is you play him in Game 6 no matter what since you’re a game away from the Finals. If you can win Game 6 in Oakland, you have just under a week for Paul to get treatment and rest before the NBA Finals. The other option is you sit him out in Game 6 and give him a few days to get ready for Game 7. To me, if Paul can go and be somewhat effective you have to play him. You don’t want to just punt game 6, hoping to win at home in a game 7 against the Warriors.
Ultimately, this blows though. I know people like to knock Paul because of his antics on the court, but he’s been so damn good this year. He probably should have been a third team All-NBA selection and has been probably the 3rd best player in these NBA Playoffs behind LeBron and Durant. All the narratives about him not being good in the playoffs have sort of gone by the wayside – and were always false. Seriously, his numbers in the playoffs are slightly better than his regular season numbers.
The other thing I was thinking about is just where does Paul rank as a point guard in my lifetime. I was born in 1987 and since I’m a freak started watching basketball almost immediately. I truly remember the 91 Finals with Jordan, so that’s where I go when talking about ‘my lifetime’ players. The point guard position has been absolutely loaded since then. Based on the point guards I’ve seen since that 91 season I think Paul is the 3rd or 4th best point guard. I’d go Steph/Kidd/Nash/Paul/Stockton as my top-5. For that reason I hope we see Paul in the Finals and healthy because there’s something that ties those last three names together.