Getty Dennis Schroder guarding Chris Paul.
After Game 1 of the Phoenix Suns playoff series against the Los Angeles Lakers, they had to be feeling good. Even though Chris Paul was banged up, they dominated the game. Unfortunately for them, the Lakers typically struggle in the first games of series.
On Thursday, they dominated the Suns and took a 2-1 lead in the series. Paul was only able to play in 27 minutes of the game and scored seven points. He’s clearly not 100% right now and it’s seriously affecting his game. To make things even worse, his Twitter account was hacked in the middle of the night. Whoever hacked his account sent out dozens of inappropriate messages, some being directed at the Lakers.
Below are screenshots of a number of tweets sent out but note that many are NSFW.
Chris Paul’s twitter has been hacked following Lakers-Suns Game 3.
So far over 30 tweets have been sent out.
Paul’s Twitter account was taken down briefly but it appears he’s regained control. All of the previous messages have been deleted. He hasn’t responded to getting hacked quite yet but the issue is resolved.
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Suns Playing It Safe With Paul
Paul is one of the best NBA players to never play in a championship game. A big reason he hasn’t gotten over the hump is the fact that he often gets injured in the playoffs. It happened to him once again in Game 1 when he hurt his shoulder. Suns coach Monty Williams is playing it safe with Paul.
“I’ll watch his face to see if I see the same look I typically see from him on a night-in, night-out basis,” Williams said prior to the loss, via ESPN. “I’m not going to put him in harm’s way.”
Paul is 36-years-old now and only has so many years left of competing for a championship. It’s certainly a shame that he finds himself injured again.
“It is what it is: You control what you can control,” Paul said after the game. “I know I do everything on a daily basis to prepare myself to be ready to play. When things happen, they happen. You gotta overcome it and get through it.”
With the Suns now in a 2-1 hole against the defending champions, it’s hard to imagine the series isn’t all but over.
LeBron James Also Dealing With Physical Limitations
The Lakers have played really well over the last two games but it’s clear that LeBron James isn’t his normal self. He’s only averaging 20.7 points a game in the series so far and he’s leaving a lot of the heavy lifting to Anthony Davis. LeBron hasn’t fully recovered from the ankle injury he sustained earlier in the season but he’s going to battle it out.
“Obviously, it’s been a rough year on me as far as physically with my ankle and dealing with that and still trying to get it where it was before the injury,” LeBron said after the game. “But every day is a step forward, and I’m going to continue to put the work into with my treatment around the clock, getting it to where it was before the injury.”
LeBron hasn’t dealt with a lot of injuries throughout his career so it’ll be important to watch how his health improves over the course of the playoffs.
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