Report: Phoenix Suns point guard Chris Paul has left quad injury
May 15, 2022, 10:45 PM | Updated: 10:51 pm
Phoenix Suns point guard Chris Paul has a left quad injury, according to ESPN’s Marc J. Spears.
Spears added that Paul declined to comment when asked about the ailment following Sunday’s 123-90 loss to the Dallas Mavericks in Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals to end Phoenix’s season.
It’s unclear as to when exactly the Suns point guard sustained the injury.
However, Paul’s playoff production took a nosedive on his 37th birthday — a 103-94 loss in Game 3 on May 6.
In the first eight games of the Suns’ postseason, the point guard averaged 22.6 points on 58% shooting to along with 9.9 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 1.6 steals per contest.
Paul also only turned the ball over a grand total of 13 times (1.6 per game) in that span.
But in Games 3-7 against the Mavericks, Paul posted point totals of 12, five, seven, 13 and 10, while only dishing out five-plus assists twice in the final five games of the postseason.
Perhaps the most glaring statistic, though, is the drastic change in turnovers.
The point guard turned the ball over a whopping 18 times in Games 3-6 for an average of 4.5 per contest.
And despite not committing any turnovers in Game 7, Paul failed to hit his first field goal until the third quarter while only having four assists and one steal.
He told reporters postgame that he’s not retiring and that the Suns will return.
“We’ll be right back here next year,” Paul said.