Suns Face Tough Opponents Down the Stretch
The Phoenix Suns currently sit just 2.5 games behind Oklahoma City for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Can Phoenix close the gap on the Thunder in the next month? The road ahead seems tough, but maybe this team can defy the odds and overcome the rough stretch upcoming and make it to the playoffs.
Phoenix (33-31) has 18 games on their dock left to play in the 2014-2015 season and 12 out of their remaining 18 games are against teams that currently hold playoff positions.
To make matters worse, 10 of these 12 games are against Western Conference playoff teams including two against the Western Conference-leading Golden State Warriors. The two non-conference games are both against the Eastern Conference-leading Atlanta Hawks.
On the bright side, if Phoenix can rattle off win-after-win against these top-tier teams, it will help the Suns rise up in the standings and hopefully overtake the Thunder for the eighth seed.
The non-playoff teams that the Suns get to play against include the Minnesota Timberwolves (14-47), New York Knicks (12-49), Sacramento Kings (21-40), and the Utah Jazz (26-36).
The other two non-playoff games will be against the ninth-place New Orleans Pelicans who are 1.5 games above the Suns in the standings. Phoenix must take care of business against the four lowly opponents and if they can win the two contests against the Pelicans then the Suns will be in business to attempt to track down the Thunder.
Phoenix’s games against playoff teams include Golden State (one at home/one on road), Atlanta (one at home/one on road), Houston (road), Dallas (one at home/one on road), Portland (one at home/one on road), Oklahoma City (home), San Antonio (road), Los Angeles Clippers (home).
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I can realistically see the Suns going 9-9 over this 18-game stretch to close out the season to put them at 42-40 overall. Phoenix should win against Minnesota, New York, Sacramento, and Utah. They will split against the Pelicans, Warriors, Hawks and the Mavericks. Phoenix will lose to the Rockets, lose both to Portland, and to Oklahoma City. They will come back to beat San Antonio, but drop their season finale to the Clippers.
Do I think this is good enough for the Suns to make the playoffs? Most likely not. Unless Oklahoma City, with a much easier remaining schedule, falls apart I do not see the Phoenix Suns making the playoffs unfortunately.
The trades made at the trade deadline were meant to encourage playoff appearances in the near-future and if Phoenix can magically finish off the regular season with 12 or 13 wins in their final 18 and make the playoffs then the playoff experience could pay dividends with the young roster the Suns boast.