Chris Paul has aged. But he has not aged out of being a high-impact player.
The Phoenix Suns did not have their starting point guard available for the first time this season against the Minnesota Timberwolves Wednesday night. Paul left Monday’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers after 14 minutes played due to heel soreness and was ruled out several hours before his team’s game at Minnesota, who the Suns beat 116-107 Nov. 1.
Without him, Phoenix inserted backup point guard Cameron Payne into the starting lineup for the first time this season. Payne and the Suns went 11-2 when he was a starter last year, but a new bench unit and first-time occurrence made things somewhat uncertain.