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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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Jan 23, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) celebrates after hitting the game winning shot at the buzzer against the Phoenix Suns at US Airways Center. The Rockets defeated the Suns 113-111. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /

5. Houston Rockets

During the 1994 and 1995 NBA Playoffs, the Phoenix Suns were bounced from the Western Conference semifinals. Their opponent? The Houston Rockets. Those represent the only two times the Suns and Rockets have ever met in the playoffs, and since Houston went on to win the title both times, those series leave a bitter taste in the mouths of most Suns fans.

The Rockets join the Los Angeles Clippers as one of the NBA villain teams this season. James Harden has been phenomenal as an MVP candidate this season, but a lot of people don’t like his playing style and the way he gets to the free throw line. The Beard’s tremendous season also doesn’t make his buzzer-beater against the Suns any more tolerable:

Dwight Howard has become a villain or a joke to many and the Rockets were generally labeled as unlikable even before Harden kicked LeBron James in the crotch.

That being said, since a good deal of Suns fans are from Phoenix, we have to recognize that a sizable contingent of Suns fans are also Arizona State fans. Harden, an ASU alum who just might wind up being the greatest player to ever come out of the Sun Devils basketball program, certainly has his fair share of supporters here still.

That’s not enough reason for anyone but the most ardent of Harden supporters to cheer on the Rockets, but still.

Next: No. 4

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