{"id":675176,"date":"2026-03-23T21:00:29","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T21:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/675176\/"},"modified":"2026-03-23T21:00:29","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T21:00:29","slug":"seven-days-of-sun-week-22-the-dogs-days-of-march","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/675176\/","title":{"rendered":"Seven Days of Sun, Week 22: The dogs days of March"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 22nd week of the NBA season for the Phoenix Suns is finally over, and honestly, good riddance.<\/p>\n

It was one of those strange weeks. Five games in seven nights, a heavy schedule that hit at the worst possible time. This team is already dealing with injuries across the roster, something that has defined the second half of the season, and then you layer that kind of workload on top of it. It is a tough formula.<\/p>\n

They simply cannot get healthy. And when you are fighting for relevance in a packed Western Conference, that matters. Every game carries weight, every opportunity counts, and this was a week where Phoenix had a chance to make a move. The sixth seed was sitting there. That\u2019s an important place in the standings. It keeps you out of the Play In, where one or two bad nights can undo an entire season. It matters because it gives you a cleaner path into the postseason. Avoiding that Play In game is everything when you have worked this hard to stay above water.<\/p>\n

It also matters because of the matchup. If you land in that six spot, you are not staring at the top of the conference in round one. You are looking at the three seed, which right now is trending toward the Lakers. That is a different path, a different challenge, and one you would take every time over having to deal with the top tier right away.<\/p>\n

Week 22 had that opportunity. And it slipped. So yeah, it was a long week, and I know people are probably tired of hearing me complain about the schedule. Especially when you look ahead to Week 23 and see a game on Tuesday, then nothing until Saturday. It makes you shake your head a little. But every team plays 82, and sometimes the calendar hits you at the wrong time. For the Suns, five games in one week came when they were already limping, and they quite literally staggered through it.<\/p>\n

If you ask what we learned, it is hard to land on anything definitive. We learned the depth is real. Even with all the injuries, this team stayed competitive and gave itself a chance in nearly every game. We also saw how hard it is to close when you are missing that many key pieces. That is not a revelation as much as it is confirmation. We already knew it, we simply watched it play out over the course of a full week.<\/p>\n

At least it ended on a high note. Snapping the five game losing streak matters, even if it does not change much in the standings. And that is where the focus begins to shift. With 10 games left, the Suns feel locked into the seventh seed. So this is no longer about climbing. It is about preparing. Get healthy. Get guys back into rhythm.<\/p>\n

That is the real challenge. We watched how long it took Jalen Green to find his legs again, and there is a chance that same process is coming for others returning from injury. That is what these final games are for. Find some cohesion. Build some rhythm. Become as difficult as possible to deal with. Because if this team can get closer to whole, they might not be a favorite, but they can still be a problem.<\/p>\n

@ Boston Celtics, L, 120-112<\/p>\n

Possession Differential: -1.1Turnover Differential: -4Offensive Rebounding Differential: +1<\/p>\n

The Suns wandered into TD Garden and, for three quarters, it was pure cinema. Devin Booker went full scorched-earth, rattling off 23 straight points, keeping Phoenix breathing while Boston rained fire.<\/p>\n

But then, the familiar late-game rigor mortis set in. The offense turned into a predictable slog, orbiting Booker until the Celtics\u2019 defense simply swallowed him whole. A late Celtics\u2019 run salted it away.<\/p>\n

@ Minnesota Timberwolves, L, 116-104<\/p>\n

Possession Differential: +3.4Turnover Differential: -5Offensive Rebounding Differential: +2<\/p>\n

The Suns marched into Minnesota with a chance to shift the vibe, but instead, they got swallowed by a forest of Timberwolves\u2019 limbs. Eleven blocks? That\u2019s not basketball, that\u2019s a SWAT team. Phoenix looked gassed, surrendering 16 fourth-quarter points in the paint as their defensive edge vanished like a mirage.<\/p>\n

@ San Antonio Spurs, L, 101-100<\/p>\n

Possession Differential: +1.4Turnover Differential: -3Offensive Rebounding Differential: +1<\/p>\n

Losing a heartbreaker to the NBA\u2019s silver-medal Spurs should make me want to throw my remote into the Gila River. Especially after blowing a ten-point lead and watching Rasheer Fleming\u2019s missed free throws feed the ever-growing Wembanyama mythos. But honestly? I\u2019m not even mad. Down five rotation players, the Suns played with actual, tangible grit.<\/p>\n

vs. Milwaukee Bucks, L, 108-105<\/p>\n

Possession Differential: +0.7Turnover Differential: -5Offensive Rebounding Differential: +4<\/p>\n

The Suns\u2019 five-game slide is officially a foul-smelling stew of CVS-receipt injury reports and late-game execution that resembles a dumpster fire in a hurricane. With Booker shooting a cold 4-of-17 and Jalen Green hoisting \u201cheat check\u201d bricks, this team is currently allergic to closing out winnable games.<\/p>\n

vs. Toronto Raptors, W, 120-98<\/p>\n

Possession Differential: -0.3Turnover Differential: -3Offensive Rebounding Differential: +7<\/p>\n

The Suns finally traded their CVS-receipt injury reports for a shovel and buried that five-game skid by absolutely dismantling a fifth-seeded Raptors squad. Instead of the usual late-game \u201cBooker-ball\u201d cardiac arrest, Phoenix actually punched back and proved they aren\u2019t just a collection of available bodies and good intentions.<\/p>\n

Inside the Possession Game<\/p>\n

Weekly Possession Differential: +4.1Weekly Turnover Differential: -20Offensive Rebounding Differential: +15Year-to-Date Over\/Under .500: +8<\/p>\n

It is kind of wild when you look at the weekly possession battle graph, because on paper, the Suns had a good week. They won the possession differential, took care of the ball, and finished with 20 fewer turnovers than their opponents. They also grabbed 15 more offensive rebounds. Those are winning metrics. And yet, they went 1\u20134.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The culprit is clear. Late game execution in the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n

In Week 22, the Suns struggled in that final frame. They averaged 22.2 points, which ranked 26th in the league for the week. They shot 28.9% from three, 20th, and 35.5% from the field, 29th. If not for a strong fourth against Toronto on Sunday, they would have finished dead last in plus\/minus. Instead, they ended at -20.6, tied for 28th.<\/p>\n

That tells the story. It reinforces what we have been seeing. This team needs to get healthy. And it also shines a light on Devin Booker\u2019s fourth quarter performance this week. He averaged 4.8 points, shooting 30% from the field and 20% from deep, with a 1-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.<\/p>\n

There is context there. Part of it comes from not having his usual group around him. Fewer outlets, fewer options, more pressure. At the same time, part of it falls on him. When the roster is depleted, that is when your best player has to elevate and find a way to close. Right now, that balance has not been there.<\/p>\n

After an arduous week that saw the Suns play five games in seven nights, things slow down a ton. Only two games on the schedule this week, both at home, which feels like a much-needed reset.<\/p>\n

It starts Tuesday night against the Denver Nuggets. Denver is a team that has had Phoenix\u2019s number this season, and they are right in the middle of a tight race with Houston and Minnesota, all sitting 12.5 games back of first. That means urgency. That means focus. And it means they are going to come in ready, especially against a team they have handled well.<\/p>\n

Then comes Saturday. The Suns face the Utah Jazz, who sit at 21\u201350 and have leaned fully into the tank. It is the most favorable matchup remaining on Phoenix\u2019s schedule. Outside of Utah, the other lighter opponents left are Dallas, Memphis, and Chicago, but none present the same level of opportunity as this one.<\/p>\n

So it is a lighter week in terms of volume. Not in terms of importance.<\/p>\n

Only 5% of the community expected the Suns to go 1-4 in Week 22. The majority thought 3-2 was their destiny. Fewer options to choose from this week. Where do they end up?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The 22nd week of the NBA season for the Phoenix Suns is finally over, and honestly, good riddance.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":675177,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3791],"tags":[7,6,2065,472,4045,604,57677],"class_list":{"0":"post-675176","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-phoenix-suns","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-nba","10":"tag-phoenix","11":"tag-phoenix-suns","12":"tag-phoenixsuns","13":"tag-suns","14":"tag-suns-weekly"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116280507780961956","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/675176","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=675176"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/675176\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/675177"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=675176"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=675176"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=675176"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}