Two Teams Have the Phoenix Suns Circled on Their Schedules

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The 2022-23 regular season schedule is out, and to no surprise, the Phoenix Suns are atop of the list for many teams looking to claw their way to the top of the NBA food chain.
Phoenix has their own pair of meetings circled, including Oct. 19's home opener against the Dallas Mavericks to begin the year.
In total, the Suns have 34 nationally televised games this season.
Teams with 30+ nationally televised games:
— StatMuse (@statmuse) August 17, 2022
42 — Warriors
39 — Lakers
37 — Celtics
34 — Suns
34 — 76ers
32 — Clippers
32 — Bucks
30 — Mavericks
More than half of the defending champs games are on national TV. pic.twitter.com/ioeQoztljh
Over the course of the 82-game schedule, teams are bound to cross paths. With the NBA providing countless drama and storylines both on and off the court, certain teams have specific teams circled on the calendar to emphasize the importance of the matchup.
In a recent article by NBA.com, each team was given one big game to have circled on the schedule.
For the Suns, it was the obvious season-opener with Dallas:
"The Suns are painfully aware that regular-season dominance does not ensure postseason success. Nonetheless, they’ll enter this season on edge. And you should see that right out of the gate, game one, when Phoenix gets a rematch with Dallas, the team that embarrassed them in Game 7 of the conference semifinals," said NBA.com.
Yet there were two other teams that had the Suns in their crosshairs when the schedule first arrived:
Indiana Pacers
Who: Phoenix Suns
Where: Gainbridge Fieldhouse
When: Friday, Feb. 10 (7 ET, League Pass)
"Suns center Deandre Ayton faces Indiana for the first time since a four-year, $133 million free-agent contract was put in front of him. Phoenix, of course, countered with a $133 million deal of its own, which secured Ayton as a restricted free agent. Expect the big man to play the type of game that gave the Pacers’ interest in the first place."
New Orleans Pelicans
Who: at Phoenix Suns
Where: Footprint Center
When: Friday, Oct. 28 (10 ET, ESPN)
"The Pelicans almost upset the Suns in the first round of the playoffs. And with Zion Williamson expected to return after missing last season with a foot injury, can the Pels now become a contender in the West? Expect New Orleans to make its case against the team that ended its latest playoff run."
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Donnie Druin is the Publisher for Arizona Cardinals and Phoenix Suns On SI. Donnie moved to Arizona in 2012 and has been with the company since 2018. In college he won "Best Sports Column" in the state of Arizona for his section and has previously provided coverage for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona State Sun Devils. Follow Donnie on Twitter @DonnieDruin for more news, updates, analysis and more!