Ranking the Phoenix Suns’ 5 holiday games in 2023-24

The Phoenix Suns are gearing up for what they hope will be a memorable 2023-24. Their roster is loaded, and they’ve gone and added the kind of role players like Bol Bol to the end of their bench who, if nothing else, present a whole lot of intrigue.

As much as some would like to fast forward through the regular season to get to the playoffs, when the real action begins, there are a whole host of important contests to get through before then. Doing so unscathed, and with the likes of Kevin Durant taking advantage of some favorable rulings on rest, would be even better.

There will be particular interest on the five games the Suns will play on the various holidays throughout the season, and for good reason.

The franchise will have no less than 37 games on national television this coming season, the third highest mark in the league. Interest in everything this group does is going to be huge, as it should be when you’ve got Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal. This will make even the usually forgettable games like a December night in Charlotte worth tuning in for.

5. Detroit Pistons (Valentine’s Day)

Beginning with the Detroit Pistons on Valentine’s Day, and this isn’t much of a step up from facing the Hornets in Charlotte. Any time you face a team from a different conference there is a little bit more intrigue, and the all-time record between the two is surprisingly close at 72-71 in favor of the Suns.

Really the added spice here comes in the form of Monty Williams, the former head coach of the Suns who will be back in The Valley for the first time after being fired. This Pistons group he is taking the reigns on certainly does not boast the talent that new head coach Frank Vogel has at his disposal.

But you can bet he will be doing all that he can to try and at least out-coach the man you took his job. To be able to do so with this young Pistons team, at a time when the postseason will begin to loom on the horizon, would be huge.

The return of Williams, a divisive figure amongst Suns fans, will take up most of the headlines, but that’s not the only reason to tune in. Cade Cunningham will also be coming to town. The third year player overlooked by many, as a result of injuries limiting him to only 76 career games so far. He will be looking to ball out, and there are few better opponents to do that against.

4. Portland Trail Blazers (New Year’s Day)

Depending on the status of Damian Lillard by the time the Suns face the Portland Trail Blazers at home on New Year’s Day, the Pistons fixture may overtake this one. For now though, any chance to go up against one of the premiere guards in the league in Lillard is a reason to watch.

The Trail Blazers as currently constructed don’t look like much of a threat to the Suns and their hopes of finishing with a high seed out West, but they do represent a different kind of challenge in two ways. The first is that the two sides will have met already by this point, in an in-season tournament game.

Not that a budding rivalry is going to grow out of that contest, but this tournament is new for everybody, although it is unclear how the Suns are going to approach these games. If the Trail Blazers have won that game, and the Suns are out of that competition early, rightly or wrongly they are going to be made fun of.

Even though that trophy isn’t the reason owner Mat Ishbia has assembled this super team. This matchup will also be a fascinating insight into both the “Point-Booker” experiment, and also how both he and Beal guard one of the best scorers in the game in Lillard.

Booker vs Lillard in a duel would be great television, while we’ll get a chance to see what kind of appetite Beal has for chasing around opposing guards on a nightly basis. As an added bonus, it will be a chance to see how rookie Scoot Henderson does against one of the best teams in the league. This is a challenge he is likely to meet head on, and it will be fun to watch.

3. Orlando Magic (New Year’s Eve)

It is not often the Orlando Magic rank this highly in any list, but there’s a reason they’re sitting here ahead of a New Year’s Eve tilt against the Suns. Put simply, this is going to be one of the best young groups in the entire league this coming season.

Wrapping up the calendar year against a sophomore Paolo Banchero and third year Franz Wagner will be an excellent barometer to see where the Suns are at this point. The Magic are young, hungry and play some excellent defensive ball under head coach Jamahl Mosley. They are not going to be an easy out on any occasion.

They also represent what could be the Suns’ kryptonite, a young team who will run up and down the court all night. Banchero and Wagner could both be All-Stars as soon as this coming season, with Wagner having just had an excellent showing at the FIBA World Cup, winning gold with Germany.

The Magic were right on league average for pace last season (99.6), and their own point guard Markelle Fultz is a methodical player. Still, with young legs and a center in Wendell Carter Jr. who will get inside and bang all night, this is going to be a stern test of the Suns’ defensive credentials to close out the year.

2. San Antonio Spurs (Halloween)

Halloween night represents the first chance for the Suns to meet what could be the Western Conference’s boogeyman for the next decade plus, in Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs. Any chance you get to watch a first overall pick against your team is exciting, and the French phenom takes that to another level.

The Suns will face the Spurs in back-to-back home contests, in what will be their fourth and fifth games of the season. To face Wembanyama consecutively in such a short space of time is not only an easy way to sell tickets, but it will be a fascinating insight into how they, and other teams, hope to guard Wembanyama all season.

The Spurs are still rebuilding, so it may be that both of these contests aren’t close. That won’t matter the first time Wembanyama goes at Durant, or if he makes Deandre Ayton look silly with some stellar footwork. There is also another layer of importance to this game in particular on Halloween night.

The Suns will have started the season away to both the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers. Two massive games, and it is also possible they could find themselves down 0-2 early as well. No reason to panic, although the media will have a field day with clickbait like headlines about the demise of the Suns super team after four days.

That is followed up by a tricky home opener against the Utah Jazz, arguably the surprise package of last season. It is possible the Suns also drop that one, at which point 0-3 does not look great, and the need to notch a win against the Spurs and Wembanyama suddenly becomes a lot greater.

1. Dallas Mavericks (Christmas Day)

Unsurprisingly, the biggest holiday game of the season for the Suns is undoubtedly the Dallas Mavericks on Christmas Day. Many see this as the unofficial start of the season, with the biggest matchups always selected on this marquee day in the calender.

The reasons here are obvious, with the Mavericks vying for a high seed after missing the postseason altogether last year. Unacceptable when you have a player with the talent that Luka Doncic possesses. Added spice comes in the form of Kyrie Irving, who has also been added to this fixture.

An anomaly at the best of times off the court, he too will provide a stern test to the defensive credentials of the entire group. If Booker is working on closing down Doncic on that end, it really will be up to Beal to stay with Irving as best he can. But even if Durant takes Doncic, Booker vs Irving will be another high level duel.

You could make the argument that the Mavericks are the biggest rival the Suns have right now. Their Game 7 matchup in the second round of the playoffs in 2022 ended badly for the Suns, and Doncic has an amazing ability to rub rival fans and players up the wrong way with incredible ease.

For those who say the Lakers still hold that spot, consider that you voted a one-time Laker in Steve Nash the most popular Suns player of all-time. Some rivalry that is. This game will have fireworks, technicals… and even an ejection, and will represent one of the biggest tests the Suns face all season.