Can they do it again? Clippers’ Paul doubtful for Game 2

Photo Credit: Joe Murphy – Getty Images

After a shocking 117 -101 Western Conference semifinal game one victory against the Houston Rockets, the Los Angeles Clippers will be asked to duplicate their success yet again without their star point guard, Chris Paul.

On Tuesday, the Clippers officially listed CP3 as doubtful to play in game two. Paul is nursing a left hamstring injury which was suffered during the team’s game seven win against the San Antonio Spurs in the first round of the NBA Western Conference Playoffs.

In a game where no one counted on a Clippers team that isn’t already deep as it is, the Clips used a complete team effort and a triple-double from All-Star Blake Griffin, to give them a commanding 16 point win. The lead ballooned to double digits after a chess match of Hack-a-Jordan and Hack-a Howard ensued in the late fourth quarter. That strategy gutted momentum for both teams (it took 11 minutes to play 26 seconds), as the Clippers just so happened to make a few plays at the end to seal the victory.
Chris Paul played an incredible series against the Spurs (22.7 points & 7.9 assists per game) and seems to be immortal, as last night was his first missed game all season.
As for the Houston Rockets who seemed to be very disinterested in winning the first game of the series, will have a great shot to redeem themselves with Paul still sidelined.

Without Paul the Clippers have shown that they will be competitive and Blake Griffin may have a say on stealing another game in Houston, as he will enter the game on a two-game triple double streak. Los Angeles will likely call Austin Rivers to start in Paul’s replacement again, who scored 17 points and dished three assists in game one.