Suns Projected to Play Familiar Foe in Early Playoff Predictions
The Phoenix Suns have done a fairly solid job of overcoming most obstacles this season.
The Suns have lost back to back games just once this season in their current journey to the top of the Western Conference with a 15-6 record. Cam Johnson went down with an Achilles injury before Chris Paul was sidelined with a right heel injury.
Yet Phoenix has persevered, and they've beaten some top competition along the way. Teams like the Dallas Mavericks, Golden State Warriors and Utah Jazz among others have fallen to Phoenix, and recent trends suggest the Suns are going to continue to be a force down the stretch.
How will players like Paul and Johnson work their way back on the court, and what will the adjustment period be like? How will the dynamics of the West shift during that time?
We're already 1/4 done with the season, and Bleacher Report has taken their best jab at what is an early prediction of the playoff picture.
Although the Suns are currently first, B/R has them finishing third in the West behind Memphis and Golden State.
Their opponent? A rematch of last year's Western Conference Semi-Finals against Dallas, who are the projected No. 6 seed in this scenario:
Suns Projected to Play Familiar Foe in Early Playoff Predictions
"The Suns get to exorcise their playoff demons from last year with a rematch against the Mavs, hoping to erase the memories of one of the biggest Game 7 meltdowns of all time," said Greg Swartz.
"Despite questions about Deandre Ayton's happiness, Jae Crowder's looming trade and Chris Paul's potential decline, the Suns have still looked like a championship-caliber team thus far.
"Only the Boston Celtics have a better net rating than Phoenix, who've managed to keep on winning despite missing Paul (heel) and Cam Johnson (knee) for half the season or more.
"Ayton has looked more engaged as of late (19.7 points, 13.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.2 blocks, 67.6 percent shooting over his past six games) while Devin Booker and Mikal Bridges have excelled while playing major minutes.
"The Suns will once again finish near the top of the West."
At this moment, Dallas finds themselves as an even 11-11. With plenty of time left, they're currently the No. 10 seed.
The full Western Conference playoff projections:
2. Golden State Warriors
3. Phoenix Suns
6. Dallas Mavericks
After playing the Spurs, the Suns will head to Dallas on Monday. Perhaps we'll get a potential glimpse into a future playoff scenario.
