Previewing Suns' Four Matchups This Week

The Phoenix Suns have gained a rhythm.

The Suns have now won three consecutive games and have improved to 7-6 this season going into an eventful week that will feature four games in seven days.

Phoenix is set to play a back-to-back set of home games against the struggling Portland Trail Blazers and Golden State Warriors before going on an east coast road trip.

The Suns will face the Memphis Grizzlies in the last in-season tournament group stage contest before heading to Madison Square Garden to face the New York Knicks to close the week.

The Suns have a great opportunity this week to continue riding momentum towards becoming the team they should be, but nothing should be taken for granted in the NBA as frequently mentioned.

A brief preview of the four contests this week:

Portland Trail Blazers

This will officially mark Deandre Ayton's regular season return to Phoenix after being traded to Portland in September. This will also be the Suns' third in-season tournament contest after topping Utah on Friday night.

The Blazers are one of the worst teams in the league thus far - struggling with injuries, the ability to consistently put the ball in the hoop, and being too undisciplined on both sides of the ball.

Portland will likely be without Scoot Henderson, Anfernee Simons, and potentially even Malcolm Brogdon.

The Trail Blazers are also coming off of a 134-91 drubbing at the hands of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The game will tip off Tuesday night at 7 PM Arizona time.

Golden State Warriors

The Golden State Warriors are looking a lot like the 2020-21 squad that missed the playoffs.

The 2022 NBA champions have lost theist six games after a 6-2 start. Their last win was against the reeling Detroit Pistons.

Stephen Curry is carrying far too heavy of a load at 35 years old, averaging 30.3 points a contest, while the next highest scorer for the Warriors is Klay Thompson at 14 PPG.

The Warriors are quite literally average in about every metric, and it could be inferred that the squad is struggling when 38 year-old sixth-man Chris Paul has arguably been their second best player this season.

This contest will tip off Wednesday night at 8 PM Arizona time and is an ESPN broadcast.

Memphis Grizzlies

The Memphis Grizzlies are one of the most disappointing teams in the NBA, if not the most.

A team who was believed to be capable of competing without star guard Ja Morant has been anything but that thus far, even before former DPOY guard Marcus Smart got shelved for a month-plus.

The Grizzlies have also yet to win a home game this season, having only beaten the San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Clippers, and Portland Trail Blazers on the road.

Memphis has received consistent standout performances from guard Desmond Bane this season if there is to be a silver lining.

This game will be the final group stage contest in the in-season tournament and will tip off at 3 PM Arizona time in Memphis.

New York Knicks

The Knicks are easily the best team Phoenix will play this week.

This Knicks team is starting to heat up, sitting at 8-5 going into the new week, and this doesn't look like the Knicks squads of old.

The Tom Thibodeau-led squad looks like a consistent playoff team - a deep squad with some star power and ample NBA-quality talent in supporting roles.

Jalen Brunson and R.J. Barrett have lead the charge for the Knicks this season, while Julius Randle is beginning to rebound after a horrid start to the season.

The Knicks are quite efficient from behind the arc, quite inefficient inside the arc/at the free throw line, and are among the most consistently great teams on the defensive side of the ball.

Phoenix and New York will tip off on Sunday afternoon at Madison Square Garden. The contest is scheduled for 4 PM Arizona time.