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Phoenix Suns Rankings: Which Western Playoff Team To Root For?

By Gerald Bourguet

Mar 9, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (right) reacts alongside Phoenix Suns forward P.J. Tucker at US Airways Center. The Warriors defeated the Suns 98-80. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 9, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (right) reacts alongside Phoenix Suns forward P.J. Tucker at US Airways Center. The Warriors defeated the Suns 98-80. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mar 30, 2015; Portland, OR, USA; Portland Trail Blazers forward LaMarcus Aldridge (12) shoots over Phoenix Suns center Alex Len (21) at Moda Center at the Rose Quarter. Mandatory Credit: Jaime Valdez-USA TODAY Sports /

6. Portland Trail Blazers

For the younger generation of Suns fans, the Trail Blazers seem pretty harmless. Half the teams on this list rank higher in terms of being rivals to the Suns, and that’s before considering non-playoff foes like the Los Angeles Kings and Sacramento Kings. The last time the Suns met the Blazers in the playoffs (2010), Phoenix won that first round series in six games.

But for Suns fans who have been around for longer than the Steve Nash era, Portland was a regular playoff opponent in the 80s and 90s. In seven all-time meetings in the playoffs, the Suns have won four series against the Blazers and lost the other three.

Unfortunately, one of those losses came in 1990 in the Western Conference Finals. The Blazers emerged victorious in six games in that series, advancing to play the “Bad Boys” Detroit Pistons in the Finals. At the end of this highlight clip, you can see Jeff Hornacek miss a last-ditch effort to tie the game with the Suns trailing by three in Game 6. Heartbreaking stuff:

In 1992, the Suns again fell to the team that would represent the West in the Finals — this time in the conference semifinals — as Rip City bested Phoenix in five games. It’s hard to project what would’ve happened for the 1991-92 Suns, but Phoenix did win 53 games that season. And for a franchise still searching for that first championship, falling in the conference finals in 1990 was especially painful.

Most of the history between these two teams is decades old now, and it’s hard NOT to feel sorry for Portland given all the injury woes they’ve had to overcome over the years (Greg Oden, Brandon Roy and now Wesley Matthews, to name a few).

But since these rankings also take into account how likely they are to compete, it’s hard to put too much faith in LaMarcus Aldridge and a streaky Damian Lillard. They already trail the Memphis Grizzlies 2-0 in the first round and with Matthews and Arron Afflalo injured, they’re likely be heading home soon.

Next: No. 5

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