Southwest Division Prediction
The Western Conference is arguably the most difficult Conference in all of North American professional sports, and for a franchise like the Phoenix Suns that is attempting to drag itself out of the gutter that it placed itself in, this is the worst era they could possibly find themselves in such a situation.
That said, the 2019-20 Phoenix Suns are going to be a much better team than they were last year, and while the rest of the Conference has improved as well and there will be plenty of losing in Phoenix, it does not feel like it will be anywhere near the amount of losing that has occurred over the past four years.
The Southwest Division will be a very big test for the roster as they look to carve out an identity for themselves as at least a competitive team, and after finishing 6-12 against them last year, will improve to around 9-9.
Although only a three-game improvement over last year, still a huge step in the right direction.
When adding that record to the combined predicted record versus the Eastern Conference (16-14) and the Northwest Division (8-10), against all but the Pacific Division, I can absolutely see the Phoenix Suns at 33-33.
Let’s say that the Suns finished 0-16 against the Pacific Division. That would still place them at 33-49, the record as last season’s Memphis Grizzlies, Dallas Mavericks, and New Orleans Pelicans, a 14 game improvement over last season, and a step in the right direction. They won’t finish win-less, however, I will predict how well they do in the next, and final post in this series.