The Phoenix Suns battle the Golden State Warriors in an attempt to end their seven-game losing streak. If you ask Vegas, odds are they will do it.
Pretend the season hasn’t started yet and I gave you this little Phoenix Suns nugget of information:
“The Suns are 11-19, riding a seven-game losing streak, and they are about to go on the road to play the Golden State Warriors.”
With your preseason state of mind, this news is probably is frustrating, but ultimately not surprising.
Now, the follow-up sentence:
“And the Phoenix Suns are favored to win.”
Wait, what?
The Suns are on a seven-game losing streak and they are about to go on the road to face the freaking Golden State Warriors and are favored to win?
Yep, by 3.5 points.
Turns out, the historically mighty Warriors have been ravaged with more injuries than even the Suns have, have a worse overall record, and generally haven’t played very well all season.
Having said that, the Warriors are on a three-game winning streak and just coming off their Christmas Day miracle win over the Houston Rockets. Regardless of their overall records, the teams are going in different directions.
Will this be a let down game for the Warriors? Will they be riding the high after their big Houston victory and ease up against the struggling Suns?
Phoenix Suns fans sure hope so. They could use a break. From calls that don’t go their way, to opponents’ lucky last-second shots, all the way up to a virus going through the locker room, the Suns’ losing streak has it all.
The Suns beat the Warriors back on October 30, in the game Steph Curry broke his hand after colliding with Aron Baynes. Despite hating to injure one the league’s best players, the Suns were thrilled to get an unsuspected win.
Fast forward to today and it is the Suns who are expected to win. I wouldn’t go as far as to say this is a must-win for the Suns, but this is about as close to must-win as it comes.
Save for the Los Angeles Lakers game (who might be without LeBron James) on New Years Day, the Suns’ schedule eases up considerably with games against the Orlando Magic, Charlotte Hornets, and two games against the New York Knicks, all in the first couple weeks in January.
Mix in winnable games against middle-of-the-road teams like the Trail Blazers and Kings, and the Suns are at the precipice a schedule made to pull themselves out of the gutter they find themselves currently dwelling.
A win tonight gets them on track to do exactly that.