Where Suns Land in NBA Playoff Projections
PHOENIX -- The Phoenix Suns have just 14 games remaining on their regular season schedule, and their positioning in a tough Western Conference grows slightly clearer by the day.
Once thought to be major players to command the West, the Suns' 39-29 record has them sitting as the No. 8 seed entering Wednesday's action.
Phoenix is only a half-game back from the No. 7 Dallas Mavericks and No. 6 Sacramento Kings, so it's not as if they couldn't escape the dreaded play-in tournament with several games left to go.
For what it's worth, the Suns are three games back from No. 5 New Orleans and 3.5 games away from the No. 4 Los Angeles Clippers. They'll face the Clippers and Pelicans twice with one more date against Sacramento to determine their season series too.
Here's where Bleacher Report has the Suns finishing, including their opponents in the first round of action:
No. 2 Oklahoma City Thunder vs No. 7 Phoenix Suns
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
"Thunder-Suns would be an unbelievable first-round matchup, as there's plenty of star power and storylines to go around," wrote Greg Swartz.
"Kevin Durant opening his 13th trip to the playoffs in Oklahoma City against the franchise he spent his first nine seasons with would certainly be emotional. We'd get a great Shai Gilgeous-Alexander-Devin Booker head-to-head matchup as well.
"The Suns face the NBA's second-toughest schedule to end the season and therefore project to remain a play-in team.
"While we like their chances against the Sacramento Kings in a 7-8 matchup (more on the Kings in a minute), Phoenix isn't going to rise higher than the seventh seed in this loaded West."
Phoenix has lost both games to Oklahoma City previously with their last fixture set for March 29.
