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Houston Rockets point guard Chris Paul wasn't on the floor for his team's losses to the Golden State Warriors in Games 6 and 7 of the Western Conference Finals, and his inability to impact those contests weighed heavily on him.
"He took it the hardest, I thought, because he knew if he hadn't had the unfortunate injury, he's dragging us the last (way to the Finals)," general manager Daryl Morey said Wednesday, per Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.
Paul suffered a hamstring injury in the closing stretch of the Game 5 win and missed the chance to clinch a spot in the NBA Finals for the first time in his career.
The nine-time All-Star's anguish was clear as Game 7 started to slip away from the Rockets in the second half:
The timing of the injury was particularly cruel because he was so impressive in the prior two contests, both Houston victories. He tallied 27 points and four assists in the Game 4 win and followed with 20 points, seven rebounds, six assists and three steals in Game 5.
It isn't much of a stretch to assume the Rockets would have dethroned the defending champions had Paul not suffered the injury, considering they built double-digit leads in the first halves of both games he missed. His ability to dictate the pace, swarm Stephen Curry's jump shots and ball-handling, and provide timely scoring would have helped the Rockets weather the Golden State onslaughts that came in the second halves.
Eric Gordon suggested as much when he said of Paul, "If he was out there, we would be playing on Thursday," per Tim MacMahon of ESPN.
If nothing else, Paul can take solace knowing the Rockets were a game better than Golden State through five contests when he was on the floor and turn his attention toward next season and a potential rematch.