Suns Have Perfect Opportunity to Build Momentum vs Bulls

The Phoenix Suns are back home to play within the friendly walls of Mortgage Matchup Center as the Chicago Bulls come to the desert.

The Suns, fresh off a win over the Sacramento Kings, move into a three-game stretch in Phoenix where they'll be facing teams all under a .500 record.

The opportunity to continue building momentum comes against a Bulls team that hasn't beat the Suns in their last 11 matchups. Phoenix has a 67.6% chance to win tonight according to ESPN's basketball index.

The Suns, 35-26, look to make up ground in a tight Western Conference postseason race against a Chicago team that's only won one of their last 13 games entering tonight. A win against the Bulls would put Phoenix on their first three-game winning streak since late January.

“The time is now,” said Booker ahead of their final regular season stretch. “You could say we’d be in better position right now, but the reality of it is, we’re still not in a bad position. We’re right in the mix. Every game is going to be valuable and important. We still have time to learn and develop that chemistry that we’re going to need.”

Chicago plays with the fourth-fastest pace in the NBA but is a bottom-five team in defensive points allowed per night. The Suns, though they're missing starting center Mark Williams, should be able to slow the pace down — especially with Devin Booker back in the lineup.

Booker returned from his hip injury earlier this week and finally can build on some great flashes in the pan alongside Jalen Green. The duo hopes to find continuity with roughly 20 regular season games left.

Chicago does move the ball around well, as they're top five in the NBA in terms of team assists per game. On that same end of the court, the Suns are second in the league in steals per night.

Young players such as Oso Ighodaro and Rasheer Fleming will likely have opportunities against the Bulls tonight. Both played a key factor in Phoenix's last win.

"We're just building with him. At times, we can play through him as a hub, but also trying to find the balance of when to run the floor, when to get behind, when to set pick-and-roll or when to trail," said Suns head coach Jordan Ott on Ighodaro.

No win is guaranteed in the league, though the Suns are in prime position to keep building momentum on Thursday night against a clearly weaker Bulls squad.