Week 13 did not exactly bring good fortune for the Suns as they opened a road trip through the East against three teams sitting above .500. You can say the Eastern Conference is the lighter side of the league,
and you would not be wrong. If the Suns were parked over there with a 25-17 record, they would be staring at the three seed. That does not make this stretch soft. Phoenix felt every bit of it this week.
The endings were cruel. The Suns were outscored 54-44 in the fourth quarter across the first two games, and the whistle was not doing them any favors. Through the first three quarters of the past three games, Phoenix was called for 43 personal fouls while opponents were whistled for 44. It felt balanced until it did not.
Across those three games in Week 13, the gap widened. The Suns were hit with 24 personal fouls in Q4. Their opponents drew 12. That is the kind of math that turns close games into long nights, especially when the legs are heavy and the margin is thin.
So the math is not mathing here. For whatever reason, through the first three quarters, the foul count stays even. Then the fourth quarter hits, the temperature rises, and suddenly the Suns are getting dinged for their physicality while the opposition skates.
The Pistons committing one foul in the fourth quarter is absurd, especially for a game that looked more like a wrestling match than a track meet. Detroit shot 14 free throws in the fourth. The Suns shot zero. That is not variance. That is unlucky. Or shit officiating. Your call.
It was also unlucky that Devin Booker twisted his ankle. He gutted it out against the Knicks, limp and all, but the Suns as a whole were limping through Week 13. They still walked away 1-2.
So what did we learn? The defense travels. This team is tough as nails. They went 16 rounds with three of the better teams in the Eastern Conference and did not back down. They were five points up late against Miami. Five points up late against Detroit. They did not close either one, but the ability to pester, disrupt, and annoy showed up every night.
The next step is turning that aggression into road wins against quality teams. If the Suns want to make noise in the postseason, that is non-negotiable. Week 13 gave them the tape. Now it is on them to use it as fuel.
Week 13 Record: 1-2
@ Miami Heat, L, 127-121
- Possession Differential: +0.1
- Turnover Differential: 0
- Offensive Rebounding Differential: +9
The road trip opened with a punch straight to the jaw in Miami. The Heat tried to end the night early, going up by 20, but these Suns do not fold anymore. They swung back after halftime, won the second half, forced steals, collected techs, and turned the paint into a war zone.
Devin Booker went down, came back, and led. Bam Adebayo going nuclear from deep ruined the ending, but the tone was set. This trip is a stress test, and Phoenix showed it is built for contact.
@ Detroit Pistons, L, 108-105
- Possession Differential: +1.7
- Turnover Differential: -4
- Offensive Rebounding Differential: -5
Detroit was another sixteen-round fight that ended in a TKO, the second straight fourth-quarter collapse with Phoenix running on fumes. Yes, Devin Booker was out. Yes, the identity showed up. The effort never dipped. But losses still count the same, and back-to-back ones have a way of leaving bruises that linger as this trip drags on.
@ New York Knicks, W, 106-99
- Possession Differential: -2.1
- Turnover Differential: -5
- Offensive Rebounding Differential: -2
The Suns did not need a must-win in mid-January, but they absolutely needed this one. Down 0-2 on the trip, Phoenix walked into Madison Square Garden and let the bench hijack the night. A 39-14 second-unit avalanche flipped the game after a Knicks haymaker run, while the defense squeezed the life out of a top-three offense.
No frills, no flexing. Just a reminder of who these Suns are and why nobody enjoys playing them.
Inside the Possession Game
- Weekly Possession Differential: -0.3
- Weekly Turnover Differential: -11
- Offensive Rebounding Differential: -11
- Year-to-Date Over/Under .500: +8
And now your weekly graph that looks more confusing as the weeks progress.
From an analytical lens, this was not a clean week for the Suns. Inefficiency showed up across the board.
They posted a 48.1% rebounding rate, which ranked 20th in the league over that stretch. The effective field goal percentage landed at 50.6%, fourth worst during the week. The turnover ratio checked in at 1.7, sixth worst. The offensive rating finished at 112.2, ninth worst. That is what happens when you walk into hostile buildings and play teams that want to turn every possession into a collision.
The Suns lost the possession battle. They lost the fight on the glass. Yet they still walked away 1- 2. This six-game road trip was never going to be a stroll, and the front end was always the rougher side of the climb. The back half lightens up, at least on paper. To me, a successful trip looks like 3-3. That path is still there. The margins are thin, the tape is loud, and the opportunity is still very much alive.
Week 14 Preview
We have four games on deck in Week 14, which means it is time for my weekly micro-rant about the NBA schedule. The Suns have played 42 games. Meanwhile, teams like the one they are about to face on Tuesday have only played 39. Brooklyn and Houston are both three games behind Phoenix at this point. Sure, that means more games are coming for them later, but it still feels strange. The NBA schedule has always been weird. It remains weird. Micro-rant complete.
The week opens in Brooklyn on Monday, and credit where it is due, the scheduling gods finally nailed one. The Suns were already in New York after playing the Knicks, so they did not have to ping pong to Atlanta and back. They got to park it in the Big Apple for a couple of days and breathe.
The opponent is a Nets team sitting at 12-27, but do not let that record fool you. They are feisty. Michael Porter Jr. is doing real work over there, playing well enough to actively sabotage whatever tanking dreams Brooklyn might have. Then again, why tank at all when you already walked out of the last draft with five first-round rookies? This one has trap game written all over it.
The Suns then head to Philadelphia on the second night of a back-to-back, which is never polite. The Sixers sit at 22-8, seventh in the East, and they have been rolling lately with six wins in their last nine. Tyrese Maxey is a full-blown problem right now, pouring in 30.3 points a night. Joel Embiid is still there. Paul George too, who will inevitably create space with a few well-timed push-offs that somehow never get called.
The trip wraps up Friday in Atlanta. The Suns were up 22 in the fourth there earlier this season and somehow walked out with a loss. Atlanta has since moved on from Trae Young, deciding he was not the long-term answer. That torch now belongs to Jalen Johnson, who has looked every bit like the future while averaging 22.8 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 8 assists. The Hawks have dropped three straight, but closing a road trip is never simple. There are no freebies waiting at the finish line.
The week closes back home on Sunday against the Miami Heat, the same Heat the Suns saw recently on their floor and handled themselves well against. Miami plays at the fastest pace in the league, and their offense is built less on screen and roll and more on isolation. They want to turn you, beat you off the dribble, and live at the rim. It is relentless, and it tests your legs and your discipline.
The real storyline of Week 14, though, might be this. We could finally see Jalen Green back. As I am writing this, I am waiting on the injury report for Brooklyn, because there is a chance a questionable or probable tag shows up. If that happens, this stretch could be the moment the Suns start to feel whole again. The pieces lining up. The picture sharpening. Stay tuned.
How do you see it unfolding next week?
