Chris Paul's teammates want to help deliver elusive NBA Finals appearance 

Although Chris Paul has put together a Hall of Fame career, there’s one significant thing missing — a trip to the NBA Finals. The Suns are one victory away after defeating the Clippers Saturday night, and Paul’s teammates are determined to get him there, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN.

“I’ve been a fan of his for a long time, and I’ve learned so much from him this year, and I always talk about off the court how he carries himself, and he’s just a true professional at every level at all times,” Devin Booker said to McMenamin. “I have a lot of respect for him as a man, not even as a basketball player, just understanding how bad he wants this and how much time he’s put into it … 16 years, that’s a long time.”

Big man Deandre Ayton called Paul "the best thing that happened to my career as Paul helped push Ayton in his development, and now Ayton wants is "going to try his best" to help get Paul that elusive Finals appearance. 

Paul has experienced a lot of playoff misfortune during his career, from numerous injuries to blown leads. The closest he came to playing for a title was in 2018 when the Rockets took a 3-2 advantage over the Warriors in the conference finals. Paul hurt his hamstring late in Game 5 and missed the rest of the series as Golden State rallied to win.

“Everything happens for a reason,” Paul told McMenamin. “Don’t dwell on things, you always remember, but I’m here now, excited about this opportunity, and all I can worry about right now is Game 5.”

Paul averaged 16.4 points, 8.9 assists and 4.5 rebounds this season while helping the Suns to the second-best record in the Western Conference. 

There’s more on the Suns:

• Center Deandre Ayton has been outstanding throughout the playoffs and seems well positioned to get a max extension this offseason, writes Kyle Goon of The Orange County Register. Ayton is averaging 20.3 points and 13.5 rebounds in the four games against the Clippers and contributed 19 points, 22 rebounds, four blocks and three assists Saturday night. He credits the addition of Paul with unlocking his full potential, tweets Jovan Buha of The Athletic.
• Booker started wearing a mask after breaking his nose in Game 2, but he got rid of it in the third quarter Saturday night. He had a sub-par shooting game on Thursday, but told sportswriter Gina Mizell that the mask wasn’t the only reason. “I’m not blaming anything on the mask, but I haven’t played basketball with the mask ever in my life,” Booker said. “It takes some getting used to and, at that point in that time, I didn’t want it.”
• Abdel Nader saw his first game action since March 21, playing 5:22 in Game 4. Nader, who had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee in April and just received clearance to play, tweeted afterward about how good it felt to be back.