What we know is Chris Paul must have two negative coronavirus tests 24 hours apart and pass a cardiac stress test to return to the court — the Suns have optimistic that would happen before Game 3 on Thursday night, as reported by Dave McMenamin and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Now comes word Chris Paul has passed all the tests intends to play in Game 3. That report comes from Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports and TNT.
Multiple reports say CP3 had been vaccinated, which allows for a speedier return under the NBA’s protocols. He also was reportedly asymptomatic (which is the most important news for him beyond thinking about a return).
Even without Paul the Suns have gone up 2-0 on the Clippers thanks to a 40-point triple-double in the first game from Devin Booker, then a gritty team effort topped off by a Deandre Ayton dunk in Game 2. Paul has FaceTimed with his teammates after both wins.
The Clippers have come back from 0-2 deficits in the first two rounds of the playoffs, against the Mavericks and Jazz, but this time is different. For one thing, the Suns have more system versatility than the teams the Clippers faced earlier (meaning Phoenix can adjust more). This also is a younger and more athletic Suns team.
But the biggest difference is Chris Paul — it looks like the Suns get their best player back on Thursday night. It’s difficult to see the Clippers coming back from that.
