Although the Houston Rockets got off to an outstanding start in Game 6 against the Golden State Warriors, it was evident that they missed Chris Paul.

Paul re-aggravated a hamstring injury in the final minute of Houston’s Game 5 victory. He was taken out of the game and was shown limping back to the locker room afterwards.

During the Rockets’ stunning collapse in Game 6, Paul watched from the sidelines and looked like a member of the coaching staff despite the fact that he was wearing warmup gear. Although he presumably had a strong desire to check in, Paul did his best to stay engaged and supportive.

Heading into Game 7, all eyes will be on Paul. If he is able to play, the Rockets will have a strong chance to take down the Warriors in front of their home fans. If not, a repeat of Game 6 could be in the works.

Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni updated the media on Paul’s status on a Sunday evening conference call.

"If I get the nod from the trainers, Chris and the doctors, then he'll be ready to go," D'Antoni said, per ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. "Probably if any of those three disagree, he's probably not going. So I think it's a game-time decision, whatever it is, probably doubtful or however they listed it or questionable. They will eventually test it and see if there's any possibility whatsoever.”

The recovery

D’Antoni added that Paul’s recovery is “going good”, but also revealed that Paul has stayed off the court completely, not even attempting to make any basketball moves on it.

"He's just been getting treatment and trying to make sure it calms down and everything," D'Antoni stated. "I would think the doctors and trainers are working on him 24 hours a day almost. They will tomorrow morning re-evaluate it again, probably tomorrow afternoon again.”

Paul is averaging 21.1 points and 5.8 assists per game in the postseason and was a key part of Houston’s victories in this series. Especially since it’s his first conference finals appearance of his career, it seems logical to assume Paul will make every possible effort to get on the court, especially in the Game 7 situation.

Overall, Houston might not know whether or not the nine-time All-Star can take the court until shortly before tipoff.

"We're not going to be coy with it," D'Antoni said. "As soon as we know, we'll say it, but we might not know until the afternoon [when we] see how it goes or he tests it out. But we'll have to kind of play it by ear for now.”