The Dragan has Returned, The Suns are in 2nd, and More!
By Adam Maynes
Second Place
So why lose this many in a row?
Because of lottery balls. With the loss to the Houston Rockets last night, Phoenix tied the Los Angeles Lakers for the 3rd worst record in the league. But then the unthinkable happened:
The Lakers unexpectedly defeated the intentionally short-handed Memphis Grizzlies (playing without Vince Carter and Marc Gasol) 108-105 snapping a four-game losing streak, and placing themselves 1/2 a game ahead of the Suns in the standings, thus slipping to the 2nd worst spot in the West placing the Suns in last, and back into the 2nd worst record in the league.
The Lakers who too have been trying to lose intentionally by benching veteran players, have won their third game (their first of these three wins was over the Suns) since Phoenix began their current losing streak, taking themselves from a 2-game lead in the reverse standings, now to this half game deficit.
Phoenix has played one more game than the Lakers and thus have one more loss in the standings. If the two teams end up with a tie record when the season ends then each team will receive the same number of ping-pong balls. However, we may see a situation where the Suns and Lakers (who do not face each other again this season) really work hard to not win again the rest of the way.
Phoenix has two potential winnable games to end the season at home versus Dallas and at Sacramento to end the schedule. However the Lakers have three winnable games on their schedule with the Kings, the Minnesota Timberwolves (who they defeated on March 24 in overtime) and the New Orleans Pelicans. If the Lakers happen to win one of those games before Phoenix wins again, there is a very real chance that in the Suns’ final two games against Dallas and Sacramento they will really hamper themselves and possibly rest Devin Booker (or at least play his fewer minutes) to try and guarantee those losses and hold onto the 2nd spot in the Lottery.
If the Lakers do not win a game the rest of the way this of course might happen anyway to guarantee a tie in the standings. Therefore whatever happens over the next week of each team’s schedule, we may not have even reached the bottom of the tank, of the tank.