The NBA officially got a little more interesting on Thursday, with the much anticipated arrival of the 2023-24 NBA schedule. The Phoenix Suns finally finding out who they will play and when, although only 80-of-82 games are currently known as a result of the in-season tournament.
Whatever your thoughts on that potential distraction, the real work can now start for the Suns’ coaching staff and front office, in preparing the team for the road ahead. Superstar players like Devin Booker, a dark horse for MVP next season, and Kevin Durant, are going to do what they do.
But the schedule itself and the way in which it has fallen for the Suns, means they can plan how they are going approach the new season.
The regular season seems to have lost some of its spark in recent years, with many seeing it as a process to be gotten through before the playoffs start. The Suns might be no different in that a championship is the goal, but the importance of the regular season is heightened for them.
Not only would it be ideal to get as high as seed as possible, so as to have homecourt advantage for as long as possible (we saw the eventual champion Denver Nuggets profit massively from this last season). But just having their star trio of Booker, Durant and Bradley Beal make it through the regular season in one piece is equally as important. The hard work starts now for the franchise.
3. A chance to put some wins on the board early
By the time November 22nd rolls around, the Suns will have played 14 games, and we will be getting a sense of where they are as a club. That will represent one-eighth of the season, and the need to shoot out of the blocks early will be paramount for this group.
After beginning the season with a meeting against former hero Chris Paul and the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco, the Suns will then travel to Los Angeles to face the Lakers. That’s a tough way to begin a year, and while 1-1 would be a perfectly fine return, there is a chance this all goes wrong and the organization suddenly fund themselves down 0-2 right away.
In their next 12 games after that, the Suns will play the Utah Jazz (three times), San Antonio Spurs (twice), Detroit Pistons, Chicago Bulls, Oklahoma City Thunder, Portland Trail Blazers and Minnesota Timberwolves. Two of those games, against the Jazz and Trail Blazers, will be in-season tournament games (there’s also another tournament meeting with the Lakers in there).
There is no reason the Suns can’t win all 10 of those contests against the aforementioned teams, regardless of if they’re home or away. An 0-2 start might look ugly, but it won’t be cause for panic. To follow that up by winning 10 or 11 of the next 12, in what will be a softer part of their schedule, should be the goal here for head coach Frank Vogel.