Doc Rivers already lost his star Chris Paul for Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals, and his luck is down to a 50/50 chance.
When Arash Markazi of ESPN.com asked Rivers if Paul was going to be ready for Game 2:
“I pretty much doubt it, to be honest, just from talking to him. But we’ll see. Right now, I just don’t think so.”
Paul was asked about the injury as well:
“It’s one of those things that you don’t want to make it worse than it already is,”
Since then, things have changed in the favor of Paul playing tonight. On Wednesday morning he was asked once again about Paul’s injury and had a significantly different response:
From Arash Markazi of ESPN.com:
I’d say 50-50. I honestly don’t know. My gut before last night was there would be a good chance [he would play Wednesday] so I’d probably lean that way. He looked good walking today.
Doc Rivers also reiterated that if Paul can play, he’ll be in the lineup. This is a tough situation for the Clippers. They need their starting point guard by any means necessary. Although the Clippers didn’t play well without Paul, Doc Rivers is not to blame. The team wants to ensure the safety of their point guard first and foremost.
It’s going to be a tough call for the Clippers, and ultimately Chris Paul knows how he’ll feel and if he can give it his all tonight. I personally want to see Paul in the lineup to see them battle against the Rockets who will be trying to avoid a 2-0 deficit in the series.
This makes for a great match-up between two foes.
