Up 3-2 in games, the Houston Rockets will be without injured Chris Paul

If it goes to seven games, it will be played in Houston

By Arnie Leshin 

The media is giving Chris Paul plenty of play, but the injured backcourt all-star is not going to play when the Houston Rockets try to wrap up the NBA’s Western Conference championship at Golden State tonight.

Losing Paul will no doubt make it even tougher to knock off the defending champions, especially on the road, but if the No. 1 seed in the playoffs can do so, it will land in the NBA finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers or Boston Celtics.

Even if they lose game six, the Rockets will have home court for game seven. They won one of two at home to start the series, then, after a 41-point embarrassment in Oakland, soared back to win the next two to go up 3-2.

But without Paul, it won’t be easy. He’s been the savior in the backcourt and his experience has brought extra strength to Houston. But with seconds left in game five, he pulled his hamstring and had to be helped to the sideline.

Now the Rockets will have to find another guard to run the show with leading scorer James Harden.

Golden State is on the brink of elimination, something it’s not accustomed to, and it brings back the NBA finals in 2016 where all-world LeBron James powered a victory in Cleveland that overcame a 3-2 deficit in games and brought game seven at Golden State.

And with little support to claim the West on the road, the visitors surprised everyone by turning back the Warriors that night and gain the NBA finals. And so it proved that the underdog could win on the road in the deciding game, which doesn’t mean Houston will, too.

But the Rockets, led by Harden, Paul and a league-best 65 wins, picked up added confidence by shrugging off the 41-point rout on the road and winning two in a row. But that was with Paul.

But coming in, there was a lot of skepticism about whether upstart Houston could compete on a stage like this given the Warriors’ playoff history. Still. with the veteran heroics of Paul, the Rockets have absolutely removed that kind of doubt.

Now the pressure is on Golden State, while Houston has proved itself good enough to win a championship. But first things first, and Harden and company will have to first oust the Warriors, who expect to have sidelined key contributor Andre Iguodala taking the court tonight. That, too, provides Golden State with more depth mixed in with its rowdy home crowd.

But losing this game will keep it from appearing in the finals for the fourth straight time. It not, it’s win in Houston or conclude the campaign.

“We’ll have to beat them without Chris,” said Harden, the league’s probable Most Valuable Player, “but we’re a team and can pick up the pace to hold our own. But it’s good to know that we do have home court in game seven.”

Except that it’s no coincidence that the team crowned at the end is usually the healthiest one.