Chris Paul listed as probable on Suns’ injury report for Game 3 vs. Lakers

Phoenix Suns point guard Chris Paul is listed on the injury report as probable for Game 3 on Thursday against the Los Angeles Lakers. The injury is being called a right shoulder contusion.

Paul injured his shoulder Sunday in Phoenix’s Game 1 win and was clearly bothered while dribbling or shooting with his right hand. He still managed to play 36 minutes.

The team listed it as a right shoulder contusion, but it appeared to be something else as Paul’s shoulder did not make direct contact with teammate Cam Johnson.

The Suns then didn’t list Paul on the injury report leading into Game 2 on Tuesday, but when the ball was tipped, the point guard still showed signs that dribbling and passing with his right arm was a chore.

He also sported a strip of Dynamic Tape brand athletic tape on his shoulder.

The tape “acts mechanically like a spring to strongly decelerate or assist motion to improve movement patterns,” according to the brand website.

“This can help to reduce load on injured or overworked structures like a muscle strain, ankle sprain, tennis elbow or plantar fasciitis and can assist where weakness is present …”

Backup Cam Payne played over Paul down the stretch of Game 2, and the starter ended up finishing with six points to go with five assists and three turnovers in 23 minutes.

“I took him out,” head coach Monty Williams said after the Suns loss on Tuesday. “It was all me, just looking at him hold his arm the way he was holding it. I just couldn’t watch him run like that. He’s trying to make plays. He battled. He’s a warrior. We all know that. I just made a decision to take him out.

“It’s pretty obvious he’s not able to make the passes he wants,” Williams added. “He was laboring tonight. … He wasn’t even running the way that he ran and dribbled the ball this morning, so we’re hopeful it’ll get better over the next 48 hours.”

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