Suns Can't Afford Another Loss vs Clippers

The Suns must beat the Clippers tonight.

PHOENIX -- The Phoenix Suns suffered yet another ugly loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, one that has Suns fans once again questioning the viability of this team as presently constructed moving forward.

They face a quick turnaround against the very same Clippers squad - that happens to sit at 51-28 with the West's No. 4 spot. The Suns dropped to the No. 7 seed and into play-in territory with their loss on Tuesday.

We will take a dive into what's truly at stake for the Suns tonight and what we need to see from Phoenix for them to secure a victory following a major letdown the night before.

What's At Stake

The Suns must win tonight to have a shot at getting back in the top 6 in the West - plain and simple.

The loss and New Orleans Pelicans victory last night gave New Orleans a full one-game lead - New Orleans does close the season with a trio of challenging contests against teams that are likely play-in bound, so the Suns do have a fighting chance to work back into the top 6 tonight with a victory.

Beating the Clippers is not negotiable at the end of the day - a loss likely seals the play-in fate that has been dreaded for the last month. A loss also opens the door for the Sacramento Kings to steal the seven seed, which in turn means they would host a potential play-in game.

What Suns Need to Show

The answer is simple: Phoenix has to come out of the gate with more fire than the previous showing.

It was apparent from the opening tip that Drew Eubanks was the only player in the starting unit that came to play - a proposition that might be terrifying to Suns fans.

All Suns fans are asking for is a more engaged effort from the jump. A team that still can tangibly show they still have more fight left this season. A team that fans can believe in going into the postseason.