3 Bold Predictions for Suns' Final 2025 Road Trip

The Suns will end 2025 with a four-game road trip, beginning with the New Orleans Pelicans.

Dec 23, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) against the Los Angeles Lakers at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

PHOENIX -- After a gauntlet of a schedule the last 14 games, the Phoenix Suns (16-13) hit the road for a quick four-game road trip that includes three matchups against teams with less than 10 wins.

The Suns begin the trip with a back-to-back against the New Orleans Pelicans (8-23) tonight and tomorrow, then will close it out with games against the Washington Wizards (5-23) Monday and Cleveland Cavaliers (17-15) Wednesday.

Phoenix is coming off a huge 132-108 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers Tuesday and will look to carry this momentum onto the trip.

There had been some hope that Jalen Green would return during this trip until an official update came out from the Suns that he would be re-evaluated around Jan. 5 to Jan. 12, meaning he will not be making his return from a hamstring strain that has sidelined him for all but one full game this season.

Here are three bold predictions for the road trip:

Suns Split Games vs Pelicans, Win Rest of Trip

Although the Pelicans have only eight wins on the year, they had won five in a row before falling to the Cavaliers on Tuesday.

Mark Williams has not played on the second night of a back-to-back all season, and the Suns are 1-3 without him, so if he does not play tomorrow, the Suns could face a tough test against Zion Williamson and rookie Derik Queen inside.

Phoenix could very well go 4-0 on this trip, but this won't be an easy back-to-back to start given New Orleans' success as of late, and the last game against the Cavs could also prove to be difficult if Cleveland gets hot offensively.

We have the Suns going 3-1 on this trip with a loss Saturday to the Pelicans.

Devin Booker Finds Consistency, Goes Off For a Season High

Devin Booker has found his footing offensively the past few games after a really inconsistent few weeks of play and is now headed to play in front of friends and family in New Orleans, a place where he always seems to have a good game.

Booker has yet to score 40 points in a game this season, but it feels like only a matter of time before he does.

The Wizards have the worst defense in the league, and the Pelicans rank 27th in defensive rating, so it will likely come in any of these first three games.

No matter what, this whole road trip will be a perfect opportunity for Booker to get in a groove offensively.

Suns Get Back to Being a Top-10 Defense

The Suns' defense has been a huge surprise this season especially after a very slow start to the season and low preseason expectations.

Phoenix currently leads the NBA in steals per game (11.0) and is 12th in defensive rating (113.7) going into this road trip.

These games against the Pelicans (25th in offensive rating) and Wizards (28th in offensive rating) should allow the Suns to crack the top 10 in defensive rating.

The Suns still cannot overlook these teams and need to continue to apply their intensity and effort, which they have done a good job so far with this season no matter the opponent.

Tonight's game against New Orleans tips off at 6:00 p.m. MST.