The Phoenix Suns have seemingly been playing around with the fate of their postseason chances, as their up-and-down season continued with a 25-point loss Friday to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Moving onto tonight’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans, the last of a five-game road trip, this could very well be the last opportunity for the Suns to have a chance to move out of a play-in spot. The play-in tournament will consist of the 7-10 seeds, so anywhere above the sixth spot will automatically be in the playoffs.
Currently, Phoenix sits at eighth place in the Western Conference, tied with the Sacramento Kings for a 43-31 record on the season. New Orleans is in sixth place, tied with the Dallas Mavericks for a 45-29 record and two games ahead of the Suns in the standings. The Mavericks have the tiebreaker over the Suns, but the tiebreakers against New Orleans and Sacramento have not been settled yet.
Additionally, the Lakers (42-33) are only 1.5 games back of the Suns for the eighth spot and own the tiebreaker over Phoenix.
With only eight games left, the Suns have a combined remaining strength of schedule of .631%, the highest in the NBA by far (per Tankathon).
With all this being said, including tonight’s matchup, two of these games are against the Pelicans. The Suns have already won their only matchup against New Orleans earlier this season, so winning either of these two contests will give Phoenix the tiebreaker.
The Western Conference standings (via NBA.com):
Injuries
The Suns have been inconsistent in about every area this season, but right now they have the upper hand in terms of injuries against both New Orleans and Sacramento, the two teams they should have to worry most about unless something goes drastically wrong.
While the Suns are healthy outside Damion Lee, New Orleans will most notably be without Brandon Ingram for likely at least the next week. Ingram suffered a left knee bone contusion after a nasty fall on March 21. The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported Ingram was expected to miss at least two weeks with the injury, which would be April 5. Coach Willie Green has said Ingram has resumed on-court activities.
The Pelicans have gone 3-2 in the five games Ingram has missed so far with the injury. After tonight, the Suns next play the Pelicans at home on April 7. New Orleans has the 16th hardest remaining schedule, facing opponents with a combined winning percentage of .490 their last eight games. The Pelicans’ most favorable matchups are against the Spurs (April 5) and Trail Blazers (April 9).
The Kings will be without a starter in Kevin Huerter (torn labrum) for the rest of the season. Meanwhile, their Sixth Man of the Year candidate Malik Monk is sidelined 4-6 weeks with a sprained right MCL, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
The Suns next play the Kings in their second-to-last game of the season on April 12. With the season series tied at 2-2, the winner of this game would also get the tiebreaker in the standings. New Orleans and Sacramento also square off against each other on April 11.
The Kings have the fourth-hardest remaining strength of schedule per Tankahton, facing opponents with a combined winning percentage of .568 the rest of the way.
Even with these injuries, the Suns have struggled against teams missing stars, as evidenced by losses to the Thunder without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the San Antonio Spurs without Victor Wembanyama and the Milwaaukee Bucks without Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Suns Thoughts
How do the Suns feel about their chances? (via AZ Central’s Duane Rankin)
Kevin Durant: “We got 8 more games left. Hopefully we get an opportunity to play in the postseason. Take it a game at a time.”
"We got 8 more games left. Hopefully we get an opportunity to play in the postseason. Take it a game at a time." Kevin Durant.
If playoffs started today, Suns host Sacramento in 7-8 game for 7th seed in West. Loser plays 9-10 Lakers-Warriors winner at home for 8th seed. #Suns pic.twitter.com/LQdJVUSPim
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) March 30, 2024
Devin Booker: “(The play-in) is a possibility. It’s realistic. We need to clean some things up and understand if we don’t clean those things up, we won’t be able to win it anyway and that’s the ultimate goal. Whatever that path may be, I think we’ll be ready for it.”
"It's a possibility. It's realistic. We need to clean some things up and understand if we don't clean those things up, we won't be able to win it anyway and that's the ultimate goal. Whatever that path may be, I think we'll be ready for it." Devin Booker on possible play-in #Suns pic.twitter.com/N2f93rJwqC
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) March 31, 2024
Bradley Beal: “(The inconsistency) causes sleepless nights. It’s not the most ideal. You want to continue to stack wins, especially at this point of the year so you play your best hoops going into the playoffs, but I think everything is correctable.”
"It causes sleepless nights. It's not the most ideal. You want to continue to stack wins, especially at this point of the year so you play your best hoops going into the playoffs, but I think everything is correctable."
Bradley Beal on #Suns following Denver win with OKC loss. pic.twitter.com/2ShpY5wlKp
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) March 31, 2024
Coach Frank Vogel: “We still have a strong belief in what we’re playing for and what we can accomplish with this group. The guys are really locked in. I expect them to play a heck of a game (against the Pelicans).”
"We still have a strong belief in what we're playing for and what we can accomplish with this group. The guys are really locked in. I expect them to play a heck of a game tomorrow."
Frank Vogel as Suns face Pelicans on Monday in finale of five-game road trip. #Suns #Pelicans pic.twitter.com/L4fifAwdVb
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) March 31, 2024
Booker finished with 52 points in the last meeting against New Orleans at the Smoothie King Center in a 123-109 victory for Phoenix back on Jan. 19. Dating back to last season, this was the second straight game Booker had a 50-piece against New Orleans.
Can the Suns rebound tonight from a tough loss to Oklahoma City and increase their chances for a playoff spot?
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Brendan Mau is a senior writer covering the Phoenix Suns and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @Brendan_Mau
