Valley of the Suns
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Breaking Down The Phoenix Suns’ 2015-16 Schedule Piece By Piece

By Scott Chasen

Jan 30, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Phoenix Suns Gorilla rides a motorcycle on the court during the game against the Chicago Bulls at US Airways Center. The Suns won 99-93. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Stewart-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 30, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Phoenix Suns Gorilla rides a motorcycle on the court during the game against the Chicago Bulls at US Airways Center. The Suns won 99-93. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Stewart-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mar 30, 2015; Portland, OR, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Eric Bledsoe (2) goes to the basket against Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard (0) at Moda Center at the Rose Quarter. Mandatory Credit: Jaime Valdez-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 30, 2015; Portland, OR, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Eric Bledsoe (2) goes to the basket against Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard (0) at Moda Center at the Rose Quarter. Mandatory Credit: Jaime Valdez-USA TODAY Sports /

October and November

First impressions

The Suns will kick off their season at home against the Dallas Mavericks, in what should be a game where they can set the tone for the entire season. The Mavericks (along with the Jazz, Pelicans, Kings and Suns) are one of those teams that is going to be battling for the final two playoff spots at the end of the year, and really, the Pelicans have a leg up on everyone else, so that leaves four teams battling for one spot.

An early win here would instantly pull the Suns ahead in the season series, and really they’ll have a chance to gain a leg up on their challengers for the last two playoff spots right away. The Suns will play the Mavericks, Kings and Pelicans (2x) in the first two months of the season (really one month and three days), which means it’ll be crucial to have all the kinks in the new rotation worked out right away.

Travel/Rest

As far as travel is concerned, the first two months are quite comfortable, less a three-game road trip in mid-November. The team will play 58.8 percent (10-of-17) of its games at home over that stretch and will only have a single two-game and three-game road trip apiece. However, that changes quickly once December starts up.

And for the most part, the team should be pretty well rested. The Suns will play two back-to-backs, but the first one comes as a home-and-home against the Trail Blazers way early into the new season. The second one is a little more daunting, as the Suns will take on the Pelicans and Spurs in a road back-to-back, but before that kicks off, they will have played just five games in the last 13 days, so they should be more than capable of dealing with that.

Matchups

One way the season smiles upon the Suns is in that they get to play the Blazers twice right away, likely before either team will have completely figured things out. However, with the much better roster, the Suns should be able to take both games of the home-and-home, which, coupled with a win over Dallas, would have them starting the year at 3-0 for the first time since the 2009-10 season.

What else happened that season? Well, the Suns not only made the playoffs, but also advanced all the way to the Conference Finals, losing in six games to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Other interesting matchups to watch include the Suns taking on the Thunder and Pistons. It seems like whenever OKC and Phoenix play there are fireworks, and as of late there have been some really competitive games between the two teams. However, the game against Detroit is a different monster.

It should be a lot of fun for Suns fans to boo Marcus Morris whenever he touches the ball, at least for the 12-ish minutes he actually plays. I must admit, I’m also secretly hoping that the Suns have not yet traded Markieff at that point, because the awkwardness that goes on pre, post and during the game should be absolutely fascinating to watch.

That being said, I also wouldn’t be shocked to see Markieff Morris rip off his jersey in the first quarter and reveal a Team FOE jersey underneath, capping off the perfect heel-turn, as he choke-slams Eric Bledsoe at the free throw line or something. (If you don’t feel like watching the whole video, just skip ahead to the 8:00 mark and watch the last 60 seconds).

In all seriousness, a full crowd for that game could be a lot of fun, and the Suns really should be at least 3-2 heading into that game, which should only add to the early excitement.

Predictions

Looking at these first 17 games as a whole can be quite daunting. After all, the Suns will be taking on the Warriors, Clippers, Thunder, Spurs, Bulls and Raptors, all of which have the potential to be very good teams. However, Phoenix can still get off to a good start, thanks to the relative easiness of their first three contests, and they should be able to stay above .500, as long as they take care of business in those first three games.

Bottom line: 9-8

Realistic best-case Oct./Nov. scenario: 11-6

Realistic worst-case Oct./Nov. scenario: 6-11

Next: A chance to separate from the pack...

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