We are finally here. The Play-In bracket is set, and the Phoenix Suns have their opponent in the 7/8 game after a long 82-game season with many ups and downs.
Here are the main questions for Week 25 we want your thoughts on as the Suns head into postseason play:
Facing the Blazers
The Suns will be facing the Portland Trail Blazers in the 7/8 game. Phoenix won the season series, but Portland has been the better team the last two months; they went 10-6 in their last 16 games.
Devin Booker only played in the first matchup, but Jrue Holiday was not in the lineup for Portland in the second matchup. Both teams are set to come into the matchup the healthiest they’ve been all season. The Blazers are in the top-10 in defensive rating and are fifth in the last two months, as they leapfrogged the Los Angeles Clippers for the ninth seed.
How do you think the Suns match up against the Blazers? Would you have preferred that they play the Clippers or the Golden State Warriors?
Struggling to end the year
It was not a strong end to the season for the Suns. The team lost 10 of their last 16 games and quickly lost any opportunity they had to climb the standings and avoid being seeded in the play-in. Credit, Phoenix was dealing with injuries, Dillon Brooks and Mark Williams were out a lot during that span, but the team did not do any favors down the stretch in games against the Spurs, Celtics, and Raptors, and Collin Gillespie had his worst stretch of the season to end the year.
The team is now healthy heading into the playoffs, but how do they make sure their struggles to end the season do not carry them into the play-in?
Did the Suns hit their Regular Season ceiling?
Before the year, Suns fans said the team’s regular ceiling was 40-59 wins. They achieved that.
After seeing the Suns play a whole 82 games, seeing how the rest of the Western Conference competition turned out, do you think the Suns hit their ceiling?
On the Suns’ Plate this Week
Phoenix will host the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday night in the 7/8 game. If they win, they’ll face the San Antonio Spurs in the first round of the playoffs. If they lose, they’ll host the winner of Clippers/Warriors, the 9/10 game on Friday, and if they win that game, they’ll play the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round. If they lose, they’ll be eliminated.
