What would the Phoenix Suns look like without Chris Paul to open Western Conference Finals?
Chris Paul only missed two games in this shortened 72-game regular season. One was due to a sore hamstring Feb. 8 against Cleveland. The other was the regular-season finale at San Antonio as Phoenix Suns coach Monty Williams rested Paul and fellow All-Star guard Devin Booker. The Suns won both games. But now they may have to start the Western Conference finals without their leader as Paul has been placed under health and safety protocols, according to The Athletic. Not nearly as good as they've looked with him in his first season in Phoenix, as the Suns traded four players with two being starters in Ricky Rubio and Kelly Oubre Jr., along with a future first-round pick, to Oklahoma City for Paul and reserve Abdel Nader. 'Beautiful to watch'::KD saves Nets' season with game for the ages against Bucks  Staff shakeup:Stan Van Gundy fired after one season with Pelicans  With Paul, they have a player who not only controls the pace and tempo of the game but relieves Booker of having to handle the ball, puts everybody in the right spots, and has constant dialogue with Williams and the coaching staff. The second-team All-NBA selection is a second coach on the floor who demands that the second-seeded Suns play at a high level. As Paul said after Phoenix swept the Denver Nuggets by winning Sunday's Game 4, 'It was 18 seconds on the clock and I was still on their a--." Paul holds the youthful Suns accountable at all times, but beyond that, he can close the game by making the right play and making shots. In the fourth quarter of the conference semifinals, Paul only missed three shots from the field in four games. Game 1: 14 points (6-of-6 FGs, 1-of-1 on 3s, 1-of-1 FTs), 3 assists, 1 steal, 0 turnovers. 14 points (6-of-6 FGs, 1-of-1 on 3s, 1-of-1 FTs), 3 assists, 1 steal, 0 turnovers. Game 2: 8 points (3-of-3 FGs, 2-of-2 on 3s), 2 assists, 0 turnovers. 8 points (3-of-3 FGs, 2-of-2 on 3s), 2 assists, 0 turnovers. Game 3: 8 points (3-of-4 FGs, 1-of-1 on 3s, 1-of-1 FTs), 3 assists, 2 steals, 0 turnovers. 8 points (3-of-4 FGs, 1-of-1 on 3s, 1-of-1 FTs), 3 assists, 2 steals, 0 turnovers. Game 4: 13 points (4-of-6 FGs, 5-of-5 FTs), 2 assists, 0 turnovers. 13 points (4-of-6 FGs, 5-of-5 FTs), 2 assists, 0 turnovers. Totals: 43 points (16-of-19 FGs, 4-of-4 on 3s, 7-of-7 FTs), 10 assists, 3 steals, 0 turnovers. Now it isn't clear whether Paul is fully vaccinated, which will play a factor in how long he's out as this is a new element of the health and safety protocols. In the past, a player missed five to seven days if it's just contact tracing. If a player tested positive for COVID-19, he was out at least 10 days. So Paul could be back for Game 1 of the conference finals that will start either Sunday or Tuesday. If the Los Angeles Clippers-Utah Jazz conference semifinals series ends in six games, the conference finals will start Sunday. If Jazz-Clippers goes seven games, the conference finals will begin Tuesday. Game 5 of Jazz-Clippers is Wednesday with the series tied 2-2 as Kawhi Leonard is listed out for Game 5 after suffering a right knee sprain late in Monday's Game 4 win in Los Angeles. Another way to judge how the Suns would fare without Paul to start the conference finals is to look back at the way they played when he suffered a right shoulder injury in the first half of Game 1 of the first round against the defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers. He gutted it out in playing 36 minutes Game 1 and the Suns won 99-90, but Paul was clearly not himself. The Suns lost Game 2 and Game 3 with Paul digressing as each of those games progressed. He sat the last 7:01 of Game 2 and final 9:34 of Game 3. Paul scored 20 total points in the first three games of the first-round series. Cameron Payne played well in Paul's place as he scored 19 points in Game 2 and 15 points in Game 3. He had 13 total assists, but also committed a total of six turnovers in the two games. Payne can be a streaky scorer but isn't nearly the playmaker Paul is and lacks the experience the 16-year veteran has. When Paul is out, Booker handles the ball more, but he can be turnover-prone as well. The two-time All-Star is averaging 3.7 turnovers in the playoffs. Booker is an improved playmaker, but not at the level of Paul. Williams made the decision to sit Paul for significant time in the fourth quarter of Game 2 and Game 3 against the Lakers because he saw him "laboring" with the injury. So he was set on not playing Paul in Game 4 in Los Angeles with Phoenix down 2-1 in the series, but Paul convinced him, Suns General Manager James Jones, and his teammates to let him start the game. "I said 'If y'all feel like I'm out here looking like some trash, just tell me and I'll get out," Paul said. Paul ended up having his best game of series, posting 18 points and nine assists in 32 minutes as the Suns won Game 4 to even the series. They've proceeded to win seven games in a row to set a franchise record for most consecutive playoff wins with Paul leading the way. The 36-year-old averaged 25.5 points on 61.8% shooting in four games against Denver. Connecting on 6-of-8 shots from 3, Paul tallied 41 assists to five turnovers in the series. "Pretty much each fourth quarter this whole series, he's been the key to making us get over the hump and get the job done," Suns forward Jae Crowder said. "We have full faith in him and he's our leader when it comes to closing and putting guys in position." Paul capped the series with a 37-point performance in Sunday's Game 4 in which he scored 25 points in the second half on 10-of-12 shooting. At one point, Paul made nine consecutive shots. "It's a closeout game and a lot of emotions, a lot of guys who want it and he just did a good job of calming us down when we got sped up a little bit and I think he managed the game the entirety of the game," Crowder said. Leadership. Playmaking. Scoring. High-level decision-maker. Disciplined. Plays with intelligence and an edge. That's what Paul has brought to the Suns in his first season in Phoenix. That's what they'd be missing at the start of the conference finals if Paul is still out under health and safety protocols. Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on Twitter at @DuaneRankin.