Getting there has felt like a formality for months but we are nearly beyond that and into the certainty of the Phoenix Suns’ season having no postseason future, with the latest step coming from Sunday’s 112-98 loss to the New York Knicks.
Phoenix was actually in this one early, with seven quick turnovers for the Knicks and great Suns energy making it a 21-20 lead nine minutes in. But then the Suns just could not make any shots, scoring five points over the next 7:04. That let the Knicks jump out to a 15-point lead in the mid-second quarter, with a few of Phoenix’s turnovers and brain farts defensively contributing.
That suggested the cracks in the dam were about to burst but instead it was the type of slow burn into an inevitable Suns loss, as the case has been in all three of these games without Kevin Durant (left ankle sprain). This easily could have been a game the Suns controlled at some point given their awful 4-for-34 (11.8%) shooting from 3-point range.
Phoenix cut the largest Knicks lead of 19 down to five with 3:43 remaining before not finding a strong enough push to make things any more dramatic.
Devin Booker has scored 39, 37 and now 40 points (16-for-29) in that trio of contests. Sunday was his latest stellar performance at Madison Square Garden, with this one setting the Suns’ franchise record for most points scored there in a game.
Bradley Beal struggled with his shot to begin the game in a scoreless first half after an 0-for-7 shooting night in his return on Friday before making five straight shots in the second half to get going. He then fizzled out late to go 8-of-19 for 16 points with two rebounds, two assists, four steals and two blocks in 34 minutes. He has been effective and present on defense in these two games, with the shots falling the last piece of the puzzle he needed to provide a positive impact. Beal’s getting there after it was brutal for him in his first six quarters back.
The Knicks got back their full point guard rotation in Jalen Brunson and Miles McBride. Brunson had missed the last 15 games while it was eight for McBride.
New York forward OG Anunoby has been on a scoring tear the last few weeks and kept that up with 32 points on 13-of-17 shooting.
Suns’ bleak play-in picture for final week
The biggest development of the weekend was the Sacramento Kings (38-40) pulling off a major upset over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday, greatly increasing their odds of making the play-in. Meanwhile, the Dallas Mavericks (38-41) lost back-to-back games to the Los Angeles Clippers. Anthony Davis missed the first contest and did the Anthony Davis thing in the second game, laboring through injuries while playing.
So, what we know is the Suns (35-43) have to win two games minimum out of their last four. Sacramento’s magic number to secure a play-in spot is now a combination of two Kings wins and Suns losses. Phoenix could still catch Dallas, in theory.
Next up on Tuesday is the Golden State Warriors, who are in a real tight final sprint that will determine seeds 3-8 and are the hottest team in the league.
On the complete opposite end of that is the Oklahoma City Thunder, the visitors in Phoenix the next night. OKC has the No. 1 seed in the West wrapped up and is just about there for the No. 1 overall seed too. The Thunder the night prior are in Los Angeles against the Lakers, a squad with Golden State in that race. If there was a team on the back-to-back to both play your best guys against and also get the better run against to get ready for the playoffs, it’s obviously the Lakers.
Then again, even if OKC rests a few players on Wednesday in Phoenix, the Suns still shouldn’t even be favored.
The tanking San Antonio Spurs (32-46) will come to the Valley on Friday for what is likely the last game at PHX Arena this season. From there, it’s to Sacramento on Sunday, which could hold some of the biggest stakes possible.
Phoenix is obviously in a perilous position. What it does have at its advantage is the tiebreakers, unlike the Mavericks.
The Suns own the individual tiebreaker with Dallas, a 3-1 head-to-head record, while a three-way tiebreaker also comes down to head-to-head record between the three teams. The Mavericks went 1-7 against Sacramento (6-1) and Phoenix (4-3), so the Kings would be ninth and the Suns would be 10th if that occurs.
Sacramento going 4-0 against Dallas ties that up as well.
The last one to be determined is between the Kings and Suns. A Phoenix win on the last day of the regular season in Sacramento would split the matchups 2-2, forcing divisional record, which the Suns (9-5) already have clinched over the Kings (4-10).
Dallas hosts the Lakers on Wednesday and the reeling Toronto Raptors on Friday before wrapping up in Memphis on Sunday against a Grizzlies team stuck in that mess of trying to avoid the play-in. Sacramento goes to Detroit on Monday for the second night of a back-to-back and then ends the regular season on a three-game homestand that features the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday, the Clippers on Friday and the aforementioned Phoenix fixture on Sunday.
