This is the time. The Phoenix Suns have just ten games remaining in the 2023-24 NBA regular season. Lock in.
The Suns are currently 42-30, which is just good enough for the 8th seed and avoids the craziness of the play-in tournament. The Western Conference is stacked this season, with depth across the board and a plethora of skilled teams battling for one of the top six seeds.
There’s no time to waste. The idea is simple: establish yourself in a seven-game series and enter it healthy. Phoenix’s schedule may be difficult, but at full strength, this club has exhausted all excuses and time. They simply need to stack wins.
Hard pass on the chaos and uncertainty that comes with the play-in, especially when considering probable opponents. No, I don’t care if it’s at home against a weaker opponent or if they’ll (most likely) have two chances to secure their spot.
Play-in Tournament
A refresher on how the Play-In Tournament operates:
Teams ranked 1-6 in the standings of each conference are guaranteed a playoff spot. Teams that finish seventh through tenth in the standings advance to the Play-In Tournament. These clubs compete for the seventh and eighth playoff seeds.
Here’s where things stand right now for seeds five to eleven:
Keep an eye on the Los Angeles Clippers (44-26), who lost on Sunday and are only 0.5 games ahead of the fifth-seeded Pelicans.
Note that these standings are relative to New Orleans’ position in terms of “games back”.
5) New Orleans Pelicans (44–27)
The next five games are against OKC, MIL, Boston, Phoenix, and Orlando.
6) Sacramento Kings (42-29)—2.0 GB
Next five games: against. DAL, vs. UTH, vs. LAC, and at NYK
7) Dallas Mavericks (42-29): 2.0 GB.
Next five games: at UTH, at SAC, at HOU, and at GSW.
8) Phoenix Suns (42-30)—2.5 GB
The next five games are at DEN, OKC, NOP, CLE, and against.
The Suns and Pelicans will clash over this period and again shortly after. The Kings and Mavs playing in back-to-back games will also have a significant impact on how the conference’s final standings shake out.
Phoenix faces a difficult four-game road trip that will require some guts to finish with at least a split, preferably more.