Kawhi Leonard, Chris Paul out for Game 1 of Western Conference finals
Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard and Phoenix Suns guard Chris Paul have officially been ruled out for Game 1 of the Western Conference finals, their respective teams announced Saturday.
Leonard suffered a right knee injury toward the end of Game 4 of the team's Western Conference semifinal series against the Utah Jazz, sitting out the final 4:35 of the contest. Despite saying, "nah, I'll be good," in a postgame interview, Leonard sat out the final two games of the series, in which the Clippers clinched 4-2 with a Game 6 comeback victory on Friday night.
On Leonard's status moving forward, Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said, "we're not sure about Game 2 yet."
Paul entered the NBA's COVID-19 health and safety protocols on Wednesday and is out for an indefinite period of time, according to the team. The 11-time All-Star is averaging 15.7 points, 8.7 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game to go with 50.9/44.4/91.2 shooting splits in the Suns’ 10 playoff games.
Game 1 of the Western Conference finals is Sunday in Phoenix (3:30 p.m. ET).
