Chris Paul: Shoulder Injury Didn't Allow Me to Shoot the Ball vs. Lakers in Playoffs

Phoenix Suns star Chris Paul played through a shoulder injury in the first round of last year's playoffs against the Los Angeles Lakers, and he told The Old Man and the Three podcast Thursday that it was so bad he couldn't shoot.

Paul suffered a right shoulder contusion in Game 1 of the series, and it limited him going forward.

"Game 2, I went out there. I don't even know why they was guarding me," Paul said. "I could not shoot it. I was faking the funk, though."

The guard finished with six points on 2-of-5 shooting in the 109-102 loss.

"I could not shoot at all," he added. "I couldn't raise my arm."

After another poor performance in a Game 3 loss, Paul said Suns coach Monty Williams considered benching him for Game 4. The veteran played and came through with 18 points and nine assists in a win, which turned the series around as Phoenix won three straight to advance.

It wasn't a pretty series for Paul, who averaged just 9.2 points per game while shooting 38.6 percent from the field. He shot just 2-of-10 from three-point range, including 1-of-9 after Game 1.

The 11-time All-Star improved as the playoffs progressed, averaging 23.5 points per game over the next three rounds as the Suns reached the NBA Finals for the first time since 1993. He shot 52.3 percent from the field in that stretch, including 49.1 percent on 55 three-point attempts.

The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Suns in six games to win the championship, but Paul clearly did everything he could.