How Suns' Chris Paul & Clippers' Kawhi Leonard have helped behind the scenes during absence

PHOENIX --- The moment would have called for Suns guard Chris Paul to huddle his teammates together. Perhaps give an impassioned speech. Perhaps just compliment his teammates for a job well done.

After all, the Suns had just cemented a 120-114 win over the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals. Only problem? Paul remained in L.A. because of the NBA’s health and safety protocols. So Suns guard Devin Booker ran a new play to maintain Paul’s presence.

“We put him on FaceTime,” Booker said. “He's our leader. We lean on him for a lot, and we know how disappointed he is and frustrated he couldn't be out here for Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, especially knowing his past history around this time. But we know we had him all the way through. We brought him in the locker room. We had him in our after-game huddle. So he's proud of us.”

The Clippers have dealt with the same issues with All-Star forward Kawhi Leonard, who has missed the past three games because of a right knee sprain. The Clippers have not ruled Leonard out yet for Game 2, but he did not travel with the team. Still, Clippers coach Tyronn Lue conceded that the team has prepared for Leonard staying sidelined for the entire playoff series. The Suns have expressed just as much uncertainty with Paul’s availability. Suns coach Monty Williams listed Paul as “day-to-day.” It also remains unclear how much practice time, if any, Paul would need before returning for Game 2 or beyond.

Nonetheless, Paul and Leonard have still put their imprint on the series.

“Big brother, a leader and a guy who still has confidence in his team,” Clippers guard Reggie Jackson said of Leonard. “We know he's battling what he's the battling, and he's doing everything he can to get back with us. He's been here in spirit. He's been here vocally. He's been with the team. He's making sure we're good and giving us his best wishes. He’s still checking in.”

The most notable example of Leonard’s involvement occurred during the Clippers’ win over the Utah Jazz in a decisive Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals. With the Clippers nursing a 22-point half-time lead, Leonard helped the team make an in-game adjustment.

“He came into the coaches' office, just talking about different strategies,” Lue said. “He just wanted to know our game plan, how we are going to start, what's our coverages and things like that. So he's very engaged.”

Paul has not missed as much time as Leonard has. Paul was placed into the NBA’s health and safety protocols Wednesday, three days after the Suns swept the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference semifinals. But leading into Game 1, Paul stayed in touch with the team.

Paul talked to teammate Cameron Payne about running the offense and handling the crowd noise in preparation for Game 1.

“He said, The game is going to get hectic. Don't worry about it. Be poised,’” Payne said. “‘The crowd is going to be crazy, but be poised and get on to the next play.' That's the thing about Chris. It's not so much him out there hooping. His communication is outstanding and we sit down and listen to him”

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Sometimes, the check-ins happened unexpectedly. Suns center Deandre Ayton woke up early Sunday morning after Paul texted to wish him a Happy Father’s Day.

“I had to look at my phone. I glimpsed at it, it was like 7:00 in the morning,” Ayton said, laughing. “I was like, ‘Is this for me?’”

The Suns soon found out to expect Paul would often stay in touch.

When he talked to the team via FaceTime after the game, Paul held up one finger to indicate that the Suns only won one game. Perhaps Paul will eventually help the Suns complete the job by stepping on the court. Yet, the Suns have found some positive benefits with learning how to play without him during Game 1 and when he nursed a right shoulder injury during their first-round playoff series against the L.A. Lakers.

“When you step on the court when he's not there, it's a little different. But we did a good job of just adjusting on the fly,” Suns forward Jae Crowder said. "There’s a couple of plays where we just know each other. We couldn't run a few sets that we usually go to with Chris in the lineup. So that was just kind of weird, but we adjusted well.”

As for the Clippers, they adjusted well without Leonard in Games 5 and 6 against Utah. They could not say the same thing about their Game 1 loss to Phoenix. But in the meantime, the Clippers will lean on Leonard’s off-court support.

“He's still active, still talking to the team and putting his expertise on the game,” Clippers center DeMarcus Cousins said. “He’s just giving advice, pointers for guys that had to fill in for him and guys filling in for roles that are backups now. He's still being that leader for the team and using his voice. Obviously the situation sucks that he's in, but he's engaged as much as he can be right now.”

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Suns' Chris Paul, Clippers' Kawhi Leonard helping behind the scenes