FILE — Chris Paul #3 of the Phoenix Suns walks on the court as Facundo Campazzo #7 of the Denver Nuggets pauses in the fourth quarter in Game Four of the Western Conference second-round playoff series at Ball Arena on June 13, 2021 in Denver, Colorado. Dustin Bradford/Getty Images/AFP
Chris Paul is in COVID-19 protocol and could miss part of the Western Conference finals, according to multiple reports.
The Phoenix Suns advanced to the conference finals with a sweep of the Denver Nuggets behind Paul’s 25.5 points per game and 41-to-5 assist-to-turnover ratio in the series.
Paul, who is the president of the NBA Players Union, is out indefinitely and could have a shorter isolation period if he’s vaccinated.
The Suns would be pulling for a long series in the other Western Conference semifinal between the Utah Jazz and Los Angeles Clippers. The Clippers lead 3-2 after a surprising 119-111 victory in Game 3.
Paul, 36, has made one other trip to the conference finals, in 2018 with the Houston Rockets. He was forced out of that series with a hamstring injury after the Rockets went up 3-2 in the best-of-seven set. Houston lost the final two games to the Golden State Warriors.