NBA Playoffs: Revealing the All-Western Conference Team

Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images
Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images /
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NBA playoffs
NBA playoffs Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images /

NBA playoffs All-Western Conference Team: Chris Paul

Survive and advance. That’s the mantra of the NCAA Tournament, and it was the tagline for Chris Paul‘s postseason as well. The All-NBA point guard is heading to his first career NBA Finals after three rounds of an emotional roller coaster ride.

Paul sustained a shoulder injury in the first game of the playoffs that severely limited him during the series, but he was able to tough it out and play in a pivotal Game 4 to keep the Suns from falling behind 3-1. Instead the injured Paul drove the Suns to the finish line and the Suns won three straight to sink the Lakers.

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The second round was a tour de force of commanding the basketball floor as Paul directed the offense, manipulating the defense and finding all of his favorite spots to drain jumpers. The Suns rolled over the Denver Nuggets in four games, with Paul dropping 37 points on 14 of 19 shooting in the clincher.

Then the news broke that Paul was going to miss an indeterminate number of games in the Western Conference Finals due to COVID protocols. He missed two games and was clearly limited in two more as he shot just 11 of 41 over a two-game stretch.

Yet again Paul battled back, ending the series in Game 6 with 41 points, including 7-of-8 from 3-point range. He had eight assists vs 0 turnovers. In every way Paul was in control and dominating the Clippers. As a result, the Suns are heading to the NBA Finals and Paul is heading to the All Western Conference Team.