Ranking Suns' Most Important Games on Schedule
PHOENIX -- The truth is evident: every single one of the remaining 14 games will be crucial in terms of deciding the playoff fate of the Phoenix Suns.
The Suns sit at 39-29 through 68 games, which may appear respectable at the surface, but at the end of the day they have underachieved relative to expectation.
Phoenix's favorite team has a difficult road ahead of them - 11 of the remaining games are against teams currently in the playoff picture.
While every game is important as the last pertaining to impact on the final standings, some will hold more weight than others in terms of building momentum, earning tiebreakers, and more.
The five most important games remaining this season:
5. Los Angeles Clippers
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The Suns play the Clippers on back-to-back nights on April 9/10.
The first of the the two matchups are in Phoenix on that Tuesday night.
The Clippers have been reeling as much if not more than the Suns over the last month - and the first of the two games could be a perfect opportunity for Phoenix to add to their win total in pursuit of avoiding the play-in fate.
4. at Denver Nuggets
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Denver is the first game Phoenix plays out of the relatively easy four-game stretch this upcoming week - and the Suns happened to be the only team that was able to defeat the Nuggets on their home court since the all-star break.
This game will be a massive litmus test.
If the Suns can defeat Denver for a second time on the road, it could be evidence of what is to come in the playoffs.
If anything, the Suns will show the high-end ability to play toe-to-toe with any competition with another victory.
3. New Orleans Pelicans
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The Pelicans and Suns will play twice inside a week span - and the home contest might prove to be the more important of the two.
New Orleans are one of only two teams that Phoenix plays in the remaining three weeks of the season that are in the same vicinity of the standings.
This game not only is a potential last-ditch opportunity to catch New Orleans in the standings, but also another litmus test game for the Suns.
The Pelicans have been the second-best team in the entire NBA since the all-star break according to net rating - and the balanced squad will prove to be a testy challenge for Phoenix despite the Suns matching up well with the Pelicans.
2. at Minnesota Timberwolves
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The final game of the season on April 14.
This might be the Suns' last shot at securing a top-six seed in the conference - pending how the 13 preceding games go.
It's also very possible that Minnesota is fighting for seeding at this point as well, so they could be rolling out a full lineup sans Karl Anthony-Towns, who is out due to injury.
1. at Sacramento Kings
This is likely going to be the most important game the Suns play all season.
The Kings won the first two games of the season before Phoenix rebounded with two huge wins to even the season series.
Game 81 will ultimately decide the tiebreaker - and could ultimately be the game that sends the most shockwaves through the rest of the league at the conclusion of the regular season.
The Suns' next contest is against the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday.
