Previewing Suns' Hectic Week Ahead
PHOENIX -- The Phoenix Suns rebounded nicely from a rough trip to Texas with a huge victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.
This upcoming stretch of games presents several challenges, including a back-to-back, another jersey retirement ceremony, and a strong opportunity to continue to make a mark in the race to avoid the play-in, while also trying to move up the Western Conference standings.
Previewing the week ahead:
Interesting Schedule Structure
The Suns face the Houston Rockets two more times this week - which will mark three times the teams have played in eight days once Saturday night commences.
Phoenix is also enjoying a rare three-day break in between games before the back-to-back set on Saturday and Sunday night - they face the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday night.
The next stop after that is Colorado where the Suns face the Denver Nuggets next Tuesday.
This week-long stretch is sure to be one of, if not the most quirky, scheduling decisions from the NBA this season.
Opportunity to Inch Up Standings
The aforementioned games against the Nuggets and Thunder will jumpstart a remaining schedule that features both an opportunity to face the NBA's best and an opportunity to make an attempt to climb up the standings in the hope of securing home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
The Suns currently trail the Los Angeles Clippers by four games and the Denver Nuggets by five games - but this week could be massive in the pursuit of a higher seed.
A spotless week could see the Suns cutting into those leads by 2 games or more depending on the results of games the previously mentioned teams play over the next week.
Another Suns Legend Gets Immortalized
Suns legend Amar'e Stoudemire is set to be inducted into the Suns' ring of honor on Saturday night against the Rockets - becoming the second player this season to be bestowed the honor, joining Shawn Marion.
Stoudemire was a key cog of the Suns even before Steve Nash made a return to the Valley - he played in Phoenix from 2002-10 before his unfortunate exit.
Suns' governor Mat Ishbia made it a priority to mend the fractured relationships with both Stoudemire and Marion - now perhaps the greatest big man in Suns history will get recognition that is long overdue.
