Phoenix Suns rooting guide for every Christmas Day game

Milwaukee Bucks vs. New York Knicks (10:00 am MST)

Who doesn’t love a good upset? It’s always exciting when David takes down Goliath, especially when almost every Phoenix Suns win constitutes an upset to some degree. And on Christmas morning, Suns fans should absolutely be rooting for an upset.

The Bucks are one of the NBA’s best teams, and they play in the Eastern Conference. Their wins and losses have no impact on anything related to the Suns. The Knicks, however, are competing with Phoenix for lottery positioning. That means any Knicks win helps the Suns.

As things stand right now, The Suns are tied with the Cleveland Cavaliers for the league’s worst record at 8-26. But the Knicks are just one game behind at 9-25. Some people might tend to root for other teams to play worse to get the Suns out of the league’s basement. But the best case scenario for the Suns is playing better while still having the best lottery odds.

It’s true odds have flattened at the top of the lottery, so there is less of a difference in odds of landing the top pick that will likely net Zion Williamson. But four teams will be drawn in the lottery this year, which means top teams can fall farther than ever. The higher the pick the Suns get, the better their worst possible pick becomes. And each pick has a big difference in value at the top of the draft.

So on Christmas Day, Suns fans should be Knicks fans too.