TRICK: The Suns have a huge point differential yet only a 3-2 record
The Phoenix Suns could very easily (and arguably should) be 5-0 right now. Their only two losses have been by one point, and one of those losses went into overtime.
The Suns are only the 5th team in the history of the NBA to lose their first two games of the season by one point. Coincidently, the Brooklyn Nets this season join them with this dubious distinction.
Taking into account their blowout win over the Sacramento Kings, all of this leads to an impressive +46 point differential on the year, or +9.2 per game. This ranks them 4th in the league in this category.
This kind of extraordinary point differential is most certainly the product of a small sample size. Last year, the Milwaukee Bucks led the league with a +8.9 average and the year before that, the Houston Rockets led with +8.5.
However, history shows that if this number dips and hovers to something around the +4 mark, the Suns could be in line for a 50-win season, something no one thought was realistic at the beginning of the year.
Granted, that is a big if, but also a plausible one.
Right now, Suns fans are as excited as a kid who just got an unexpected full-size candy bar during their Trick-or-Treat expedition. Hopefully that excitement doesn’t melt in the hot desert sun.