The Phoenix Suns know they will get two opportunities to make it to the playoffs, and it will begin with a meeting against the Portland Trail Blazers later this week.
An opponent Collin Gillespie sure does love playing, and that alone might carry them to the postseason.
Failure to win means near certain loss to L.A. Clippers
But if they fall into a second one-off battle against the winner of the L.A. Clippers and Golden State Warriors, then their season may well be over.
That's because the Clippers head into the play-in as one of the form teams in the league, with everybody from Kawhi Leonard to Paul George appearing to figure out how to co-exist.
The Suns did split the regular season record 2-2 against their potential opponents, but three of those games came before November 9th.
After starting 6-21, the Clippers secure their 15th straight winning season by finishing 42-40.
— Joey Linn (@joeylinn_) April 13, 2026
Historic turnaround, but LA will need two Play-In Tournament wins for a chance to play OKC in the playoffs.
Since then L.A. has climbed out of the grave they dug themselves in the early goings of the campaign, and trading away James Harden may have been the key.
His regular season track record speaks for itself, but so too does his many postseason flameouts. Now with the Cleveland Cavaliers, there is far more structure and cohesion to the Clippers' roster.
This does assume that the Warriors aren't able to get the better of that team in the nine/ten seed matchup, but let's be honest they're not.
A Suns loss to Portland would then see them meet a Clippers outfit that they also don't have a lot of answers for on the defensive end.
Dillon Brooks will do what he can to stop Kawhi, but neither of Devin Booker or Jalen Green is an ideal long-term solution sticking to George.
They also boast Darius Garland from the Harden trade, while Brook Lopez has managed to find some consistency after struggling badly.
Adding another layer of intrigue is Bradley Beal, who was cut loose from The Valley and went to Los Angeles during the offseason.
He won't be playing in this one, out for the year with a hip fracture, but his decision to go to the Clippers looks better with each passing game.
He could actually have helped this version of their roster off the bench, while he also would have been an interesting offensive option in a matchup against the Suns.
Neither team is going to win a championship this year, but the main concern here is the fact the Suns might not make the playoffs at all if they find themselves in a one-off game versus the Clippers.