Suns Have Tough Climb Ahead in Western Conference Playoff Race

The Phoenix Suns have 15 games remaining in the regular season.

It's been a truly wild year for the Suns in the best way possible under first-year head coach Jordan Ott. Phoenix has shocked the entire basketball world and surpassed even the most optimistic of expectations this season and are in strong position to make a splash after the regular season.

The Suns don't just want to be a fun story. They want to be legitimate playoff contenders, but they'll need a few things to go their way.

Health is arguably the top thing that's prevented the Suns from truly discovering their ceiling this season. While they're potentially getting Dillon Brooks back soon along with fellow starter Mark Williams, their biggest test feels almost out of their own control.

Suns Have Tough Sledding in Western Conference Playoff Picture

In example, the Suns went 7-3 in a ten-game stretch and didn't make any progress in moving off the West's seventh seed. The problem isn't really the lack of success on the Suns' part, but more so the teams ahead of them.

As of Sunday, seeds 3-7 are all within three games of each other:

3. Los Angeles Lakers (42-25)
4. Houston Rockets (41-25)
5. Denver Nuggets (41-27)
6. Minnesota Timberwolves (41-27)
7. Phoenix Suns (39-28)

The Suns are just 1.5 games back from the sixth seed out West, which would see them avoid the play-in tournament.

In their last ten games, every team seeded 3-7 has been .500 or better, and while the top has shifted with Los Angeles going from six to three, Phoenix is still on the outside looking in.

It won't get easier to finish the regular season, either. As of Sunday, the Suns have the third-toughest strength of schedule remaining at .537 according to Tankathon.

Seven of their remaining 15 games will come against Western Conference opponents currently ahead of them in the standings, which includes a nice stretch to end the year where they play Houston, Los Angeles and Oklahoma City in their final three-of-four games.

After their recent loss to the Toronto Raptors, Jordan Goodwin says these final stretch of games will be huge.

"We've got to double down," Jordan Goodwin said (h/t Duane Rankin). "The rest of these 15 games are going to be like that. High level. The arena is going to be into it. Playoffs right around the corner. We've got to double down on everything."

The Suns know what's ahead of them.