Standings Watch: Where Suns Could Land After Weekend
The Phoenix Suns are notably currently sitting at 38-28 - which would be on pace to easily get into the top of the postseason field if it were the 2022-23 season all over again.
Unfortunately, this version of the Western Conference is ultra-competitive, with the Golden State Warriors holding onto the No. 10 seed at a respectable 34-31 record.
The Suns currently trail the Sacramento Kings by percentage points for the sixth seed out West - the two are on a collision course for a massive matchup in Game 81 of the season in roughly a month.
The Suns must take care of business in the interim, however - we will take a look at the Phoenix's slate this weekend, along with the teams in their direct vicinity - the New Orleans Pelicans, Dallas Mavericks, and Kings.
New Orleans Pelicans
The Pelicans are currently the tenuous leader of this pack - they possess the five seed over the Kings by a game and the Suns by 1.5 games.
New Orleans also has a very challenging game Friday night against the Los Angeles Clippers.
A Pelicans loss and Suns win would bring the Suns within half a game of New Orleans with two head-to-head games remaining (New Orleans do play the Portland Trail Blazers tomorrow as well).
The pair of Pelicans-Suns matchups are appearing to loom very large in the grand scheme of things this season.
Sacramento Kings
The Kings currently hold the slightest of leads over the Suns for the six seed - 0.09% to be exact.
Sacramento and Phoenix are tied at two apiece in the season series - and the aforementioned penultimate game of the season will decide the season tiebreaker, but Sacramento has a very challenging opponent this weekend in the New York Knicks tomorrow night.
A strong Phoenix weekend coupled with a Sacramento loss would create some much needed separation for the Suns going into the final weeks of the regular season.
Phoenix Suns
The Suns can look at what other teams are doing all they want, but ultimately they control their own destiny going forward.
The Charlotte Hornets are instantly a matchup that Phoenix should take advantage of to pad their win total with a remaining schedule that is sure to be full of rubber matches.
The road game against the Milwaukee Bucks will also be a worthy litmus test - the Suns beat Milwaukee the last time the two teams met prior to the All-Star break - Milwaukee has also been significantly better since that point as well.
If Phoenix can sweep the weekend slate, they will return home to face the Philadelphia 76ers sans Joel Embiid and the Atlanta Hawks sans Trae Young.
The next week is massive for the Phoenix Suns.
Dallas Mavericks
The Mavericks had the lead over Phoenix for about three hours following the Suns' loss to the Boston Celtics last night due to the season tiebreaker.
Dallas then lost to the OKC Thunder to relinquish the narrow lead - and a date with the Denver Nuggets on Sunday afternoon is sure to be an uphill battle.
The NBA season is set to conclude on April 14 and the 2024 NBA Playoffs are set to start on April 20.
