The Phoenix Suns continued their winning ways on Friday evening, as they took their season to 17-13 with a win over the New Orleans Pelicans.
This was a game in which Grayson Allen again didn't feature, and at this point he may be on the trade block as the roster in Phoenix looks to be moving on without him.
Win over Pelicans shows why Suns are destined for postseason
Hard as it may be to believe, but beating an opponent who dropped to a dreadful 8-24 was actually the clearest signal yet that the Suns will feature in the playoffs, and it came about for a number of reasons.
The Pelicans are 5-5 in their last 10 games and have clearly shown improvement. They also recently knocked off the Houston Rockets, who underestimated them the same way the Suns of last season would have.
Suns have a chance to run the clock out, and at a 5-point gap, Booker calls for Dunn to score. He does, and as the Pelicans look OK with ending it, Queen calls for the ball to go score (as he has in the past). Booker denies and goes for a swipe. Immediately calls for review LOL pic.twitter.com/TtrXvencXB
— Kellan Olson (@KellanOlson) December 27, 2025
This version of the team never does that, always giving a good account of themselves unless the opponent is simply superior, and the only time that has happened so far this season was in a loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
But the Pelicans also fall into the category of a team the Suns should be beating because of their dire record and season so far, so they also handled business.
Being competitive was always going to involve beating up on the bad teams out there, and the feeling was that the Suns could be the best of the worst in the league.
Only they've proven with notable wins over would be contenders that they are actually much more than that. Rather than believe their own hype, they're still beating opponents like the Pelicans.
It was also nice to see Devin Booker get back to his dominant self in this victory, putting up 30 points against a team in the Pelicans who the Suns will face again in their next game.
Getting up for the big ones versus the Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves doesn't require anything from head coach Jordan Ott.
But to have Dillon Brooks, who continues making an All-Star case and company arrive to New Orleans the day after Christmas and handle business is what will get this group to the playoffs.
With upcoming games after New Orleans against the Washington Wizards and reeling Cleveland Cavaliers, they may not even have to get there through the play-in tournament yet, that is how impressive they have been.