The Phoenix Suns are reeling right now, and are playing more like a team that is dreaming of Cancun than the play-in tournament. It has been a long season - and unfortunately for them - we're not quite at the finish like yet. The Suns finding themselves in 11th spot in the Western Conference, stuck between a rock and a hard place.
The Dallas Mavericks above them continue to do just enough to hold onto the final play-in spot, despite having the worst six week stretch of any professional sports team ever. Kind of impressive that the Suns can't overtake that when you think about it. Failure to do so will see Phoenix hand over a valuable first-round pick to the Houston Rockets as well, a nightmare scenario.
The San Antonio Spurs are here to make it even worse.
You'd be forgiven for not giving the Spurs much thought recently. They lost superstar Victor Wembanyama to a deep vein thrombosis diagnosis shortly after the All-Star break, a worrying development for both player and team. That has seen them slide out of play-in contention, as they now occupy the 12th spot out West.
Yet any roster that has Chris Paul on it is always going to try and be competitive, which is exactly why the point guard should be a top priority for the Suns this summer. Which is how they have ended up only one game out of the loss column on the Suns, although at 27-37 they are four games back on Phoenix.
They also have much more of an incentive to tank - but although they're missing their best player - they are still talented enough to win some games. Which has now created a scenario in which the Spurs are closer to catching the Suns right now, than the Suns are to reeling in the Mavericks and making it to the play-in.
If San Antonio were to overtake Phoenix while missing Wembanyama and with Paul running the ship there, that would officially make this one of the worst seasons in franchise history. Relative to expectations at least. This was a group that was supposed to contend, yet instead they're fighting for 11th spot with a young team featuring the very player they dumped in order to add Bradley Beal.
Yikes.
It gets worse - as the lower the Suns fall - the higher the likelihood that the Rockets get an even better lottery pick from them this offseason. That is unless they decide to send Durant to Houston for those picks back plus a young player, a route they now have to give serious consideration.
Considering this team went 3-10 in February and had the worst defensive rating in the entire league, the prospect of falling even further seems almost expected. The Suns do at least have the prospect of some easier games coming up to tack on some wins and escape the clutches of the Spurs below them, right?
Wrong, they have the toughest remaining schedule in the entire league. Thankfully the Spurs sit eighth in this category, and as already mentioned they have less of an incentive to actually win. Should the unthinkable happen and the Suns slip to 12th however, how do you convince Devin Booker that this is where he is going to win a championship? Worrying times in Phoenix.