Chris Paul out for Clippers-Rockets Game 1 with hamstring injury

By foxsports
Published

Chris Paul, who had the last-second, game-winning shot to lift the Clippers into the Western Conference semifinals, will not play in Game 1 against the Rockets because of a strained left hamstring. 

Paul injured his left hamstring at the end of the first quarter in Game 7 against the Spurs in the first round of the playoffs, and returned in the second quarter.

Doc Rivers said after that game on Saturday that if he had to guess, Paul wouldn't play today and he was right.

"It's just not worth it. Because if you re-injure that, you're done," Rivers said. "To me, it wasn't worth it."

Paul had an MRI, which was negative, but Rivers said he figured Monday that Paul wouldn't play because of it. Paul was on the court with the team for shootaround at the Toyota Center.

If this were another Game 7, maybe Paul would play. And maybe not. 

"I just don't think he was healthy enough to play," Rivers said. "I guess in a Game 7 he probably could've played. I'm not even sure with that. I just don't think the risk is worth it."

Rivers said he had hamstring injuries, too, and doesn't want to potentially lose Paul for the rest of the series by playing him. Rivers wasn't sure if he could play in Game 2, either.

Paul will have two more days of rest - today and Tuesday - before Game 2 on Wednesday. 

"It could be two games. It could be one. We don't know yet," Rivers said. "I haven't thought that far ahead, to be honest. But, pretty much right away, I had made, at least my mind up, that he wasn't going to play tonight."

Paul didn't try to fight him on it because, as Rivers said, "I wasn't going to listen."

Paul scored 27 points Saturday and is the key to running the Clippers offense. He's the facilitator, the scorer and leader.

Austin Rivers and Lester Hudson could get time at point guard and Rivers said Jamal Crawford could bring the ball up the court as well.

There was never any indication that Paul would play leading up to the game, even though his MRI results were negative.

"I pretty much knew all day," Rivers said. "I had to still wait for (trainer Jasen Powell) to tell me for sure. Honestly, I had made my mind up. They were going to have to change my mind more than to tell me he was healthy."

As for playing Paul after the injury in Game 7, Rivers joked: "At that point I was thinking, he's already injured. Let's see what we can get out of him. He's not a horse, so he can come back. That was the other thought."

As for how Rockets coach Kevin McHale was preparing, he said he couldn't control the Chris Paul situation.

"The guy is a hell of a competitor," McHale said. "I know they want him to be healthy. You hate to see anybody go through periods when you're not healthy. This game is no fun when you're banged up. It is part of it. I'm sure Doc Rivers wishes he had a 100 percent healthy Chris Paul. I wish we had (Donatas) Montiejunas and Patrick Beverley, too. I'm sure Memphis wishes they had (Mike) Conley."