{"id":706810,"date":"2026-04-09T19:06:22","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T19:06:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/706810\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T19:06:22","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T19:06:22","slug":"who-would-be-the-best-opponent-for-the-phoenix-suns-in-the-2026-nba-play-in-tournament","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/706810\/","title":{"rendered":"Who would be the best opponent for the Phoenix Suns in the 2026 NBA play-in tournament?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> \u00a0There\u2019s a difference between making the playoffs and shaping your playoff destiny. For the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.yardbarker.com\/nba\/teams\/phoenix_suns\/90\" class=\"yard_link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Phoenix Suns<\/a>, the play-in tournament isn\u2019t just a hurdle; it\u2019s a fork in the road. The Suns can sit back and watch for the time being, although, who would they rather face off against? <\/p>\n<p> On paper, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.yardbarker.com\/nba\/teams\/los_angeles_clippers\/88\" class=\"yard_link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Los Angeles Clippers<\/a> present the more dangerous equation. With a healthy Kawhi Leonard, Los Angeles at any moment could find a spark with their efficient isolation offense. That matters in playoff-style basketball, where pace slows, and possessions tighten. Phoenix, at times, has struggled against wings who can control tempo and create without help, exactly Leonard\u2019s specialty. <\/p>\n<p>Portland offers a contrasting profile. The Trail Blazers lean younger, less defensively disciplined, and more volatile. Over a sample of late-season games, teams with Portland\u2019s defensive rating historically allow higher shot quality in the midrange, an area where Phoenix thrives. That\u2019s not just a stat; it\u2019s an identity match.<\/p>\n<p>For Suns fans, this isn\u2019t about fear; it\u2019s about probability. The goal isn\u2019t simply to advance; it\u2019s to advance efficiently. A win in the first play-in tournament game likely sets up a more manageable first-round opponent against the San Antonio Spurs and would allow them to avoid a top-seed powerhouse like the Oklahoma City Thunder, while preserving energy for a deeper run. Emotionally, there\u2019s also clarity. Fans trust star power, but they trust matchups more. The Clippers bring unpredictability and playoff scars; the Blazers bring opportunity. Identify opponent strengths, map them against Phoenix\u2019s offensive tendencies, and prioritize the route that maximizes matchup leverage, not just talent advantage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u00a0There\u2019s a difference between making the playoffs and shaping your playoff destiny. For the Phoenix Suns, the play-in&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":706811,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3791],"tags":[7,6,2065,472,4045,604],"class_list":{"0":"post-706810","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"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116376317791493481","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/706810","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=706810"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/706810\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/706811"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=706810"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=706810"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=706810"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}