Chris Paul exited Game 2 late in the 3rd quarter with a groin injury. He would not return.
Phoenix Suns guard Chris Paul has a left groin strain and the team says his status is considered “day to day” as Phoenix tries to climb out of a 2-0 hole against the Denver Nuggets in their Western Conference playoff series.
The team updated Paul’s status on Tuesday night. Game 3 is on Friday in Phoenix (10 ET, ESPN).
INJURY UPDATE: Further evaluation has confirmed that Chris Paul has sustained a left groin strain. He is considered day to day.
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) May 3, 2023
While the Suns have Paul listed as day-to-day, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski is reporting Paul’s status for Games 3 and 4 is in doubt, while Shams Charania of The Athletic reports the Suns are preparing to play Games 3-5 without him.
Paul — a 12-time All-Star — was boxing out Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in Game 2 on Sunday when the Nuggets guard went up for an offensive rebound with just under 5 minutes left in the third quarter. Shortly after the play, Paul walked toward the bench and went to the locker room.
The Nuggets are the top seed in the Western Conference and won both of the first two games by double digits.
Paul finished Game 2 with eight points, five rebounds and six assists in 25 minutes, with Phoenix having outscored Denver by eight while he was on the floor. He is averaging 12.4 points, 5.0 rebounds, 7.4 points and 1.7 steals per game in the playoffs while shooting 41.8% overall and 32.1% on 3-pointers.
Paul turns 38 on Saturday and has been mostly healthy in his previous two playoff runs with Phoenix. He missed Games 1 and 2 of the 2021 Western Conference finals because he was placed in the NBA’s Health and Safety Protocols, but was strong the rest of the series and had 41 in a series-clinching Game 6 win. He appeared in every playoff game for the Suns in 2022, which ended with them losing to the Dallas Mavericks in the West semifinals.
Injuries have dogged Paul at various other times in his playoff career, with the most notable being a strained right hamstring in the 2018 West finals. Paul, then playing for the Rockets, injured himself late in a Game 5 win against the Golden State Warriors that gave Houston a 3-2 series edge. He missed the next two games, including a 101-92 loss in Game 7 at home.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
