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Chris Paul #3 of the Phoenix Suns walks onto the field as Facundo Campazzo #7 of the Denver Nuggets pauses in the fourth quarter at Game Four of the Western Conference Series in the second round of the playoff round at the Ball Arena on June 13, 2021 in Denver, Colorado ( Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)
Chris Paul and the Suns have a lot in common. Neither of them won a championship. They both have terrible luck in the NBA playoffs.
After 69 seasons jointly between the two, we’ve all come to the ultimate sunflower test.
Will the basketball gods Paul and the sun be cursed forever? Or will the latest setback prove just the opposite, representing nothing more than a speed bump on their way to salvation?
After testing positive for COVID-19 earlier this week, Paul can no longer train with the Suns. He needs back-to-back negative tests before joining his team in the Western Conference Finals, which begins Sunday at the earliest, Tuesday at the latest.
It is said that Paul was vaccinated. It may be asymptomatic. If both were true and Paul was still ineligible for Game 1, it would be another corruption of justice on Planet Orange. It will be hard to keep your faith. Especially when the NBA doubles down on the stakes by filling arenas for profit, and filling them with screaming fans.
But if Paul clears the virus and joins the team at the start of the Western Conference Finals, it will be both remedial and symbolic, a sign that our luck has clearly changed for the better.
Already, a lot has been achieved in the 2021 postseason. Paul overcame a stroke of luck in the first half of his first playoff game in Phoenix; Lakers lost Anthony Davis to injury and their first-round series hold; The Suns drew the dwindling Nuggets in the second round, racking up a rare four-game sweep, barely trailing the entire series.
Imagine if the Suns somehow lost Game 4 in Denver and had to end that streak with Paul in quarantine
Meanwhile, the Clippers may have lost Kowhi Leonard to an ACL injury in the late stages of a major victory. Jazz Still Without Mike Conley. The Nets paid a king ransom to injured players in 2021, and he may be invincible after all.
Our sense of destiny was punctured Wednesday morning, when Valley fans woke up to Paul’s positive Covid-19 test; Diamondbacks club who lost 21 consecutive road games; extreme temperatures and terrible air quality in the valley; And an Arizona State University football program and coaching team could be in serious trouble with the NCAA for flagrant violations of the rules.
For local sports fans, Arizona looked and felt like hell all over again.
Here is the bright side:
After the Red Sox recovered from a 3-0 series deficit to stun the hated Yankees in 2004, they cruised to their first championship in 86 years, freeing New England from an alleged hex. While our loop-free streak can’t be blamed on Billy’s goats or the Bambino’s curse, it feels just as oppressive and malicious. The Suns have a great opportunity to face and challenge their misfortune. And if Paul can’t play in Game 1, the Suns have a great opportunity to show their gratitude to the veteran goalkeeper.
Paul has given everything to our collective cause. He moved to Phoenix without his family. Monty Williams helped change a toxic culture. He was harsh in his guidance of Daindry Eaton, who was no longer vague or disorganized.
Paul refused all forms of load management during the regular season. He is very dedicated, and spends most of his time away from the court recovering and recuperating. He pleaded with Williams for a chance to play through his Game 4 injury against the Lakers, just as the Suns coach was ready to shut him down. By the end of the Nuggets series, Paul was producing some of the best basketball of his decorated career, still in his prime at age 36, a true legend not only being given his rewards in the post-season.
If he misses the start of the Western Conference Finals, the Suns can bring him back with a win without him.
change his story. Just as he has changed us.
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