Even in the moments after Paul’s Phoenix Suns finished a 123-98 thrashing of the visiting Denver Nuggets on Wednesday to take a 2-0 lead in their Western Conference second-round series, Paul was planning.
Injuries are mounting across the league, and this time the one Paul had in the playoffs — his shoulder stinger that almost wrecked this run before it started — seems to be healed.
He wanted to be close to his family in Los Angeles, be in good weather and have a shot at playing next to a star; he would have that in Devin Booker.
After going a perfect 8-0 in the bubble in Orlando, Florida, to narrowly miss the playoffs in 2020, the Suns were upwardly mobile — but were not seen as real contenders.
Booker has been the star Paul believed he was, with the young guard’s 47-point closeout game to knock out the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers being the gem so far.
With his shoulder better — he couldn’t even attempt long shots for several games in the previous round — he has made 14 of 24 shots and 4 of 5 3-pointers in this series.
It is dangerous to think this fairy tale will continue; Paul’s playoff career is one long string of unexpected setbacks.
Outwardly, Paul will not allow it; he has literally done dozens of commercials about insurance covering unexpected disasters.