Preview: Suns Enter Massive Road Trip

PHOENIX -- The official second half of the Phoenix Suns season begins tonight - with three road games pitted against lower-tier competition and another test against one of the NBA's elite on the horizon.

The Suns have been a disappointment of sorts themselves - sitting at just 26-28 following a 9-2 start to the new year.

The inconsistent nature of the first 54 games can be attributed to a number of factors, but none of them matter now - Phoenix must take advantage of the next set of matchups.

Tonight: San Antonio Spurs

The Spurs are likely to be without Victor Wembanyama due to an illness in what is set to be Kevin Durant's return to the University of Texas campus - this is now a contest that Phoenix has to win, no questions asked.

San Antonio still possesses an All-Star level talent in De'Aaron Fox along with quality core pieces in Devin Vassell and Jeremy Sochan, but the Suns have the undoubted advantage here.

Suns-Spurs is set to tip-off around 7:30 PM Phoenix time tonight.

Saturday: Chicago Bulls

The Suns are set to square off with Chicago for the first time this season on Saturday - that could end up being a good omen for Phoenix.

Chicago finally unloaded Zach LaVine as part of the Fox trade to San Antonio - signifying a greater commitment to giving the youthful talent more runway.

Ayo Dosumnu, Coby White, and even the veteran Nikola Vucevic are quality players, but Chicago is clearly pushing to get in better position for an elite draft selection while also allowing the prospects to develop at the same time.

This should be a contest the Suns come out with a victory in.

Suns-Bulls will tip off shortly after 3 P.M. Phoenix time.

Sunday: Toronto Raptors

The Suns will get another "break" from the schedule in the form of the second half of a back-to-back against the rebuilding Raptors.

This will be the first time the two teams face off this season as well - with the second contest set to be played in Phoenix just about a month from now.

Toronto does have serious NBA talent - from Scottie Barnes to Immanuel Quickley to Gradey Dick - but they still sit at 17-38.

Suns-Raptors is set to tip-off shortly after 4 P.M. Phoenix time on Sunday afternoon.

Tuesday: Memphis Grizzlies

The Suns are looking to avoid going down 3-0 in the season series on Tuesday - they lost the two prior games at home in relatively similar circumstances.

Phoenix will face Memphis on the road once more in three weeks - but the game at hand must be player first.

Memphis has one of the deepest and most athletic rosters across the NBA. That has created a very real matchup problem for the Suns, but the shot-making ability of Kevin Durant and Devin Booker could act as a potential equalizer yet again.

Suns-Grizzlies is set to tip off shortly after 6 P.M. Phoenix time next Tuesday.