The Western Conference Finals are headed to a Game 7 in Houston on Monday night, after the Warriors took down the Rockets 115-86 to even the series in Game 6. Houston played that game without Chris Paul (which made their 39-22 first-quarter lead especially stunning), after the star point guard injured his right hamstring late in Game 5.
Will Paul be able to go for the biggest game in the NBA this season, and the biggest game of his life?
Unfortunately for CP3 and the Rockets, those chances aren’t looking good at the moment.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports that Paul “Less likely than likely, but working every angle to try.”
On the chances of a Chris Paul comeback with right hamstring injury for Game 7, source tells ESPN: "Less likely than likely, but working every angle to try."
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 27, 2018
“Less likely than likely” is an, um, odd way to put it. But we can basically just take that as “doubtful.”
We can also assume that Paul will see how he’s feeling on Monday evening and perhaps consider giving it at a go if he could be even at 70%; he’s never been to the Finals and would have all offseason to heal the hamstring. And a Chris Paul at 70% likely still makes the Rockets a better team than if they don’t have him at all.
But the hamstring injury must be fairly significant if Paul was quickly ruled out for Game 6 and is already being seen as “less likely than likely” two nights before a game that will likely decide this year’s NBA champion.
The Rockets will have home-court advantage and their fans will create a raucous environment at the Toyota Center, but it will be extremely difficult to take down the Warriors in a Game 7 without CP3.
UPDATE: Chris Paul is officially out for Game 7. Very bad news for the Rockets.
Breaking: Chris Paul will not play in Game 7, per Mike D'Antoni. pic.twitter.com/kgBlqU7ETJ
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 28, 2018
“Less likely than likely” was used 5 times on this page. It’s frustrating to keep reading the same thing over and over.