The 3 worst playoff matchups for the Phoenix Suns

The NBA's regular season is coming to a close, and the Phoenix Suns are not where they thought they'd be in the Western Conference. So much so that at this late stage of what has been an underwhelming campaign, there is no guarantee they'll even make it to the playoffs.

Instead a route through the play-in tournament is looking increasingly more likely - and given that this roster had championship aspirations to begin the season - it is not good enough. Try as owner Mat Ishbia has to spend a ton of money to build a winner, that run to the 2021 NBA Finals has never felt further away.

If the Suns do make the postseason though, it is clear that some matchups will present a tougher problem than others.

For example the Suns have had trouble against the Los Angeles Lakers this season, dropping three games to them before winning the last two meetings (that fifth meeting coming as a result of the in-season tournament). The size of the Lakers - and having two superstars that they can't contain and match up with in LeBron James and Anthony Davis - being a large part of the reason why.

Then there is the defending champion Denver Nuggets, who the Suns have somehow beaten the last two times they've faced. Both victories coming in the last month as well. That's a nice boost for this group, but we also must not forget this team has also lost to the San Antonio Spurs three times this season. It's obvious however that these three opponents present nightmare matchup problems.

3. Minnesota Timberwolves

The surging Minnesota Timberwolves are probably the most obvious answer on this list because at 51-23 so far this season, they're a problem for pretty much anybody. Not only do the Timberwolves have a superstar in Anthony Edwards that they just won't be able to stop, but they also have two centers in Rudy Gobert and Karl Anthony-Towns who can have serious joy here.

Anthony-Towns is currently injured - and he may not be back for the postseason at all - but in a hypothetical matchup he would make it hell for Suns' big man Jusuf Nurkic. Jaden McDaniels and Nickeil Alexander-Walker would also take turns trying to slow Devin Booker down. Kevin Durant can score over anybody, but Towns if healthy could use his big body to try and slow him down.

The Timberwolves also have a veteran point guard in Mike Conley who can continue to set the table for his teammates, while Naz Reid is the kind of player off the bench who would simply destroy Drew Eubanks or Bol Bol if it came to it. They would also surely feast on the turnover issues that have plagued the Suns, and get out in transition to punish them for throwing the ball away.

At 108.2, the Timberwolves have the best defensive rating in the whole league this season. The Suns on the other hand score 11.4 points each night through midrange shots, which leads the league. A terrible combination if you're the Suns, who have shown this season that despite boasting Durant, Booker, Bradley Beal and Grayson Allen, they are unable to break teams down. Advantage Wolves.

2. L.A. Clippers

On paper this doesn't look like a dreadful matchup for the Suns - but upon closer inspection - it absolutely is. The temptation here is to instead pick the Oklahoma City Thunder, because like the Timberwolves they are young and hungry, and have a player in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who is further along in his personal development than Edwards.

He plays with a poise that calms his whole team, and the Thunder just hammered the Suns 128-103 without Gilgeous-Alexander suiting up. But it is the L.A. Clippers who are the harder postseason matchup, because they will be able to play at the kind of slow pace that can and will grind the Suns to a halt.

The Clippers can throw Kawhi Leonard on Durant, and Paul George on Booker. Terance Mann and James Harden can take turns guarding Beal, while Ivica Zubac and Nurkic is a closer contest that may ultimately be a wash. The Clippers also have Russell Westbrook off the bench, and the idea of him driving at the disappointing Eric Gordon, Nassir Little, Bol or Eubanks is a terrifying one.

The Suns would still have some joy scoring against the Clippers, and it is also fair to point out that the other team in Los Angeles has cooled off some since trading for Harden and going on a two month tear. But the Suns can also stop nobody either - and with the Clippers third in offensive rating this season (119.0) and with loads of ways to hurt you - they are a team the Suns want to avoid.

1. Dallas Mavericks

How on earth have we come back to the Dallas Mavericks again? The same opponent who outlasted the Suns in a seven-game thriller back in 2022, and who boast a player in Luka Doncic who all of a sudden could be making a late push for the MVP award this season. The Mavericks were poor to start the season, but they've figured a lot out since then.

Kyrie Irving is back on the court and has totally accepted his role as the second option offensively. Rookie big man Dereck Lively II is young and bouncy enough to give the flat-footed Nurkic issues in the paint as well. The front office of the Mavericks also did something very smart at the trade deadline that the Suns couldn't... make significant roster moves.

Yes it is true that the Suns added Royce O'Neale, a player who has fit in right away. They also went and got David Roddy, with head coach Frank Vogel having one of the strangest uses of the power forward on his mind in the not too distant future. But the Mavericks went and got Daniel Gafford, a big man who has already had a nice impact and who takes some pressure off Lively II.

They also added P.J. Washington, with the duo having started 35 games combined and counting since the deadline. The Mavericks needed to make a change and added two guys who have rounded out their starting five, which has seen both Doncic and Irving play their best basketball at the right time in the season. Should these two meet in the playoffs, it will be a case of not again for the Suns...