Chris Paul in COVID health and safety protocol and could miss start of Western Conference Finals

Chris Paul has been sidelined.

The All-Star point guard has entered the NBA’s COVID-19 health and safety protocol, the Suns announced on Wednesday. Whether he will be available for the team’s opening games of the Western Conference Finals is not yet known. Phoenix said it would re-evaluate him again on Saturday.

Paul tested positive for COVID-19, according to Arizona Sports 98.7 FM, which also reported he had received the Pfizer vaccine back in February along with other members of the team. How long he will be away from the team is still not known. If he was showing symptoms, he would still face a minimum of 10 days away from the Suns, regardless of vaccination status. His return could be less than that, according to the relaxed protocols issued in March, depending on his physical health. ESPN’s Jalen Rose on “Get Up” also said Paul was already vaccinated and estimated he would miss just one game.

Paul, 36, had played a crucial role in the Suns’ run through the 2021 playoffs, particularly in Phoenix’s sweep of the Denver Nuggets in the second round. His 37 points in the Suns’ 125-118 win over the Nuggets on Sunday helped secure a clean entrance to the Western Conference Finals. It’s the first time the Suns have been to the conference finals in 11 years. It will also be Paul’s second time playing in the Western Conference Finals — he advanced that far in 2018 with the Houston Rockets.

“My faith isn’t going to waver now because we’ve had a few obstacles,” Suns coach Monty Williams said Wednesday. “We’ve had obstacles all season long and gotten through a lot of stuff. You look forward to these challenges, you embrace them and you move forward.”

The Suns practiced on Tuesday and Wednesday without Paul as players in the protocol aren’t allowed near their teams.

He averaged 16.4 points, 4.5 rebounds and 8.9 assists during the regular season. Over 10 games in this playoffs, Paul’s averaged 15.7 points, 4.1 rebounds and 8.7 assists.

But the Suns are still waiting for an opponent. The Utah Jazz and Los Angeles Clippers are tied 2-2 in a Western Conference Semifinal best-of-7 series with Game 5 on Wednesday night. The earliest the Western Conference Finals could start is Sunday, but that seems unlikely. If the Jazz and Clippers end up needing a Game 7 to decide a victor of their series, that would happen on Sunday, meaning the earliest the West Finals would start is Tuesday.

“One of the things we’ve said, if you’re nutty enough to listen to me around here, we’re just going to do the next right thing,” Williams said. “And that’s focus on the next practice, the next film session. I just left our gym and the spirit was unreal. Our guys understand that we’ve dealt with stuff this year, other teams have dealt with it, it’s just part of the NBA.”

The Jazz-Clippers series buys Paul and the Suns some time ... for now.