Phoenix Suns: Keys to Victory vs Thunder
The Phoenix Suns walk into Sunday's matchup with the Oklahoma City Thunder having won their last four games. Another victory would mark the first time since late November where Phoenix won five or more games.
The Suns (42-35 and currently have a 1.5 game lead over the Los Angeles Clippers for the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference) walk into the matchup with a clean bill of health.
Playing host to them are the Thunder, who have alternated wins/losses in their last five games. Oklahoma is currently hanging on to the West's No. 10 seed, the final spot in the play-in tournament.
It's a major game for both squads in terms of the playoff picture. Here's how the Suns can walk away victorious:
Phoenix Suns: Keys to Victory vs Thunder
Keep Deandre Ayton out of foul trouble
Things were going to plan for the Suns in their win over Denver, where they got up by as much as 27 points before seeing their margin deteriorate to a two possession game in the final minutes of action.
Part of the reason was the absence of Deandre Ayton, who picked up his fifth foul with 7:04 left in the third quarter and missed valuable time moving forward.
Ayton has often been criticized for his play, but there's no doubting the Suns are at their best when he's contributing down low on both ends of the floor.
Win the backcourt battle
The Suns have their own talented backcourt in Devin Booker/Chris Paul, but so does Oklahoma City with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey. SGA is top five in scoring with over 30 points averaged per night and Giddey has hit 20+ in three of his last five games.
The spacing that Kevin Durant provides indeed gives the edge to the Paul-Booker dynamic, though the Suns should be fairly watchful of what OKC's young duo themselves can do.
If Phoenix is able to outperform the Thunder duo at the guard spots, it's hard not to see the Suns emerging to their fifth straight win.
