Suns Guaranteed Minimum of Play-in Tournament Spot
The Phoenix Suns are one of the most talented teams in the league, no matter if you're talking about the pre-Kevin Durant era or how the squad currently aligns.
However, a barrage of injuries through the entire season have limited the Suns in terms of their playoff positioning. From the beginning of December to Jan. 18, Phoenix won a mere five games and had some worried missing the postseason was even a slight possibility.
However, those worries (though they never seemed capable of coming to fruition) can be put to rest as the Suns have officially clinched - at worst - a spot in the play-in tournament thanks to the Dallas Mavericks losing yesterday.
As of now, the Suns are the No. 4 seed in the West with a 42-35 record.
The Denver Nuggets hold a slim two-game lead over the Memphis Grizzlies for the top spot on the conference. The Sacramento Kings are four games back as the No. 3 seed and hold a five-game advantage over Phoenix, so it seems the Suns' current positioning is likely the best they can achieve.
The Golden State Warriors are 1.5 games behind the Suns as the No. 5 seed, and this is where things get really tricky in the West:
No. 6: Los Angeles Clippers (11 games back from first)
No. 7: New Orleans Pelicans (11.5)
No. 8: Los Angeles Lakers (12)
No. 9: Minnesota Timberwolves (12.5)
No. 10: Oklahoma City Thunder (13.5)
No. 11: Dallas Mavericks (14.5)
No. 12: Utah Jazz (15)
The Suns themselves have the potential to establish a five-game winning streak when they battle the Thunder later today.
If the season ended today, Phoenix would be matched with a Warriors team they beat three-of-four times this year.
