Steve Kerr on Chris Paul injury: ‘It’s a shame’

Steve Kerr knows the Houston Rockets are a much lesser opponent when Chris Paul cannot be on the floor, but the Golden State Warriors coach would rather see the star point guard suit up in the Western Conference Finals.

With Paul out because of a hamstring injury, the Warriors blew the doors off Houston in the second half of Game 6 on Saturday. Prior to the win, Kerr seemed genuinely sympathetic toward CP3.

“More than anything, I feel bad for Chris,” Kerr said, per Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com. “The guy’s a phenomenal player and competitor and pretty much willed his team the last two games. He’s just been haunted by these types of injuries in his career, and it’s a shame. I hate when anybody gets hurt.”

There has been no word on whether or not Paul will play in Game 7 on Monday, but ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports that it does not look good.

On the chances of a Chris Paul comeback with right hamstring injury for Game 7, source tells ESPN: "Less likely than likely, but working every angle to try."

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 27, 2018

While the Warriors are dealing with a significant injury of their own, Game 6 left little doubt as to how much Houston misses Paul. Eric Gordon got off to a hot start and scored 19 points, but the Rockets simply couldn’t keep up for 48 minutes. Game 7 could look similar if Paul is unable to play.