The Phoenix Suns are on the outside of the playoff picture looking in. They sit three games behind the Oklahoma City Thunder and 2.5 games behind the New Orleans Pelicans for the eighth seed in the Western Conference.
More than likely, Phoenix’s brutal remaining schedule — the most difficult remaining schedule in the West — will result in the fifth straight season in the lottery. And that’s before you remember the recent ankle injuries to Brandon Knight and Alex Len, or Phoenix’s 6-8 record since the All-Star break.
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Simply put, it’ll take something close to a miracle for the Suns to sneak into the postseason, even with the rash of injuries that have befallen OKC and NOLA over the last few weeks.
But the Suns believed they were a playoff team heading into the season and since they’re still technically in the hunt, giving up early is not in the modus operandi. Head coach Jeff Hornacek has been doing a good job giving the younger guys more minutes, even with Phoenix still trying to make the postseason.
Until they’re officially eliminated, the Suns will continue to fight. A look at the road ahead is cringeworthy, and the old “our next game is the most important game of the season” cliche definitely applies here.
But cliches are no fun, and some games are simply more important than others. If the NBA’s fourth youngest team has anything left in the tank, here are the five most important remaining games — in chronological order — that the Phoenix Suns NEED to win in order to keep their playoff hopes on life support. But first, one honorable mention that’s worth noting.
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Honorable Mention: Mar. 25 — vs. Sacramento Kings
Of the Suns’ remaining 14 games, only two of them come against opponents with losing records — the Sacramento Kings and the Utah Jazz. The Jazz have emerged as one of the league’s elite defenses since the All-Star break, meaning this game against the Kings is really the only “easy” opponent the Suns will get.
Unfortunately, Phoenix has had problems with DeMarcus Cousins and the Kings recently. The Suns’ last game against Sacramento ended in a heartbreaking Boogie buzzer-beater and Hornacek’s squad is 1-2 against the Kings this season.
If the Suns lose this game, they’re basically pulling the plug on their playoff hopes. They’ll be well-rested coming into this one, since their preceding game against the Dallas Mavericks is three days in advance. There’s really no excuse for losing to the Kings at home with the playoffs on the line.
Next: Tonight's Game
5. Mar. 19 — vs. New Orleans Pelicans
That cliche we mentioned is a load of BS, but in this case it’s actually true since tonight’s game against the Pelicans could indicate whether or not the Suns make the playoffs. A loss would mean the Suns lose the season series to New Orleans, thereby surrendering the potential tiebreaker.
It’d also move the Suns to 3.5 games behind the Thunder and Pelicans for eighth in the conference, effectively widening the gap to an insurmountable degree.
With Knight and Len unlikely to play, this is going to take a monumental effort from the Suns. They need to take advantage of playing at home, which might require the fans to cheer on their feet for longer than two minutes. US Airways Center, these are the kinds of games Markieff Morris might have been talking about. A win tonight keeps the Suns in the playoff hunt. A loss…not so much. Both the Suns AND the fans need to bring the fire tonight.
Next: Phoenix Can't Fear The Beard
4. Mar. 21 — @ Houston Rockets
The Suns are probably most familiar with the “Fear the Beard” slogan for James Harden, mostly because James Harden has torched them like few other teams in the NBA this season. True enough, Harden is slaying most everyone these days as an MVP candidate/black reincarnation of King Leonidas, but his last two meetings with the Suns at US Airways Center have not been kind.
In the first one, Harden dropped 33 points and a game-winner. In the next one, he dropped 40 in a near triple-double, including 20 fourth quarter points. The Suns have been in every loss to Houston this season, losing those three games by a combined 16 points.
In Texas, the Suns will need to pick up a critical road win against an MVP candidate who loves to destroy the team of the city where he went to college. On the first night of a back-to-back (with the second night being a home game against the Dallas Mavericks), the Suns need to bring their A-game heading into a manageable four-game homestand.
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3. Mar. 29 — vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
This one might be as important as tonight’s game against the Pelicans. Not only is it the fourth and final meeting between the Suns and the Thunder, but it will decide the season tiebreaker. Phoenix currently trails OKC 2-1 in head-to-head meetings this year. A win at home, on the same floor where Eric Bledsoe and Russell Westbrook dueled like NBA gunslingers not long ago, could improve the Suns’ playoff hopes from “HA!” to “Well…maybe.”
Keep in mind, the last truly great game we’ve seen the Suns play came in that thrilling overtime win over the Thunder. These two teams have waged some memorable battles over the last few seasons, with high scoring affairs that come down to the wire dominating the proceedings. With playoff spots on the line, this shouldn’t be any different.
Will Kevin Durant be healthy by then? It’s anyone’s guess, but the Suns would still have their hands full just trying to contain Westbrook. Any chance Phoenix has to gain a game on the team currently occupying the West’s final playoff spot is a must-win. At home, this game could decide the Suns’ playoff fate.
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2. Apr. 4 — vs. Utah Jazz
A bit anticlimactic, I know. By record, this is the second-worst team the Suns face in their remaining 14 games. On the surface, it seems non-sensical to choose this team over the Golden State Warriors, Atlanta Hawks, Dallas Mavericks, Portland Trail Blazers or San Antonio Spurs — all elite teams the Suns face once or twice in the last few weeks of the season.
But since the All-Star break, the Jazz have been absolutely elite. Since trading Enes Kanter, they’ve completely terrorized opponents on the defensive end thanks to Rudy Gobert, who has so many nicknames now I can’t even keep track of them all (the Stifle Tower, the French Rejection, the Gobert Report, Gobzilla and my personal favorite that I’m going to start lobbying because I came up with it, the Gobstopper).
The Suns suffered their first loss of the season in an ass-kicking against Utah, so they need to come ready to play. This is also one of only two home games for Phoenix in April. After starting the month on the road against the Dubs, the Suns get Utah at home before a brutal four-game road trip against Atlanta, Dallas, New Orleans and San Antonio. So yeah, the Suns kind of sort of REALLY need this one.
Next: A Fateful Showdown
1. Apr. 10 — @ New Orleans Pelicans
But again, let’s not make this too complicated. At the end of the day, the Suns will need to beat the Pelicans twice over the next three weeks to have any shot at the postseason. A lot can happen between now and then. By this point in the season, the Suns could already be out of the race and playing Archie Goodwin and T.J. Warren 35 minutes a night.
But if by some miracle the Suns make it through this brutal upcoming stretch and are still in the hunt this late in the season, this game represents their make-or-break game much like the Memphis Grizzlies game did last year. The Pelicans will probably also still be fighting for a spot and this time around, they’ll have the home court advantage.
By Apr. 10, the Suns could very well be out of the playoff picture. Almost every game Phoenix plays over the next four weeks is brutally important, especially because the Suns don’t have a single “gimme” the rest of the way. But if the Suns somehow manage to fight over the next three weeks, this really will be the most important game of the 2014-15 season.
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