Chris Paul’s injury was especially sad because he had proved all his doubters wrong

With Chris Paul watching Game 7 against the Warriors from the sidelines with a hamstring injury, the Rockets needed a repeat of Game 2. They needed P.J. Tucker and Trevor Ariza to combine for 41 points on lights-out three-point shooting. They needed Eric Gordon to go for 30, and James Harden had to be nothing short of spectacular.

That was the only way the Houston Rockets, despite holding home-court advantage in a sudden death showdown, could overcome the reigning NBA champions with a trip to the NBA Finals on the line. Everything had to go Houston’s way.

Unfortunately, not everything did. The only thing left to wonder after their 7-of-44 performance from three, is how this game — or series — could have turned out had CP3 remained healthy.

Paul was doomed for the remainder of the series after he came up hobbled in the closing seconds of Game 5. It was a hamstring injury, one he couldn’t return from in that game, and one that kept him out of Games 6 and 7 in the only trip to the conference finals in his decorated basketball career. It was a tragic end to a great season.

The Rockets would have loved to have him, especially after how he played during the season and in the playoffs. But they didn’t have him, and it was a reminder of how he’s silenced his loudest critics even though he didn’t make it to the promised land.

Instead of becoming a free agent last summer, CP3 orchestrated his exodus to a playoff team ready to contend for a title. The Rockets traded a hodgepodge of players for the all-star guard, and the trade was only followed by scrutiny.

They’re two ball-dominant guards, we all assumed, and there’s only one ball. How are they going to share it, and who’s going to take a step back for the other to shine? Those were the questions that needed answers.

Even Kevin Durant admitted he had his own reservations about the Paul-Harden pairing to start the season.

“I know that I gained a lot of respect for this Houston Rockets team over the summer,” Durant said in his postgame press conference. “Obviously, can’t lie, coming in [to the season] I’m like, ‘Wow they got CP and James, two guys that do the same thing.’ Just about the same way every basketball fan thought when they came together.”

Remember, Paul suffered a bruised right knee in that season-opening win against the Warriors. He missed 14 games with that injury. The Rockets went 10-4 without him.

Then, he came back, and Houston hit another gear. Sharing the ball wasn’t a problem; it came naturally. The Rockets won 14 straight games when Paul returned, and when he returned again after sitting three games with a groin injury, Houston won 32 of its next 38.

His best performance? Probably 37 points, 11 assists, and seven rebounds without Harden in a win over Damian Lillard and the Trail Blazers.

After all, regular season success wasn’t what Paul came to Houston to get. He had his fair share of that with the Clippers in Los Angeles. CP3 wanted to take it to a new level. And early on he played like it.

Paul scored 27 points in Game 2 of Houston’s first-round series against Minnesota. The Rockets blew by the Wolves in five games. He averaged 19 points and 6.6 assists in that series.

But in the second round, the Rockets had a a few issues with Donovan Mitchell. He was spectacular against the Thunder in the first round and was playing that same brand of dazzling basketball against Houston.

So, Paul elevated his game to match the rookie’s. He averaged 24 points per game against Utah. In the decisive Game 5, CP3 went for a playoff career-high 41 points and 10 assists, shining down the stretch.

This opportunity was everything Paul wanted and never had. Seven games for a shot at the NBA Finals against the team that had given him issues time and time again in the past.

Early into that series, the calls came for him to step up. Paul went for 23 in Game 1, but he scored just 29 points in Games 2 and 3 combined. The Rockets trailed 2-1 at that point with Game 4 coming in Oakland. If they didn’t want to fall to a difficult 3-1 deficit, the Rockets needed more from CP3.

He delivered.

Paul went for 27 points on 50 percent shooting, including 5-of-9 from deep, in the Rockets’ Game 4 win. He played every minute of the fourth quarter, coming up with eight huge points in the period. In a game where Harden shot 11-of-26 and 3-of-12 from deep, CP3 shouldered the load.

And he was ready to do it in Game 5, too. Harden didn’t make a single one of his 11 three-point attempts that night, and had Eric Gordon not exploded off the bench for 24 points, this one would have gotten ugly.

But Gordon came through, and Paul, despite a 6-of-19 shooting night, did too. He scored 18 of his 20 points in the second half, including several impossible shots to hold the Warriors off early in the fourth quarter. It was a reminder exactly why the Rockets went out and traded for the all-star guard in the first place.

And then he got hurt, and Houston lost two in a row, and its season came to a screeching halt. The result may or may not have been different had Paul played in Games 6 and 7. The only certainty is that no one will ever know. That’s the saddest part.

This might have been Paul’s best chance to finally break through. He becomes an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season, and even at age 33, he’ll be one of the most sought after players on the market. But odds are, he and the Rockets will find a way to keep this thing together for years to come.

Why? Because the Rockets are damn good — better than anyone could have imagined — with Paul and Harden sharing the floor. And if Houston brings him back and finds a way to get better, Rockets vs. Warriors will continue to be what everyone wants to see, not Warriors vs. Cavs.

If they meet again, hopefully Paul gets to see the end of it.