{"id":709827,"date":"2026-04-13T19:39:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T19:39:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/709827\/"},"modified":"2026-04-13T19:39:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T19:39:16","slug":"are-the-phoenix-suns-favorites-against-the-portland-trail-blazers-in-the-2026-nba-play-in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/709827\/","title":{"rendered":"Are the Phoenix Suns favorites against the Portland Trail Blazers in the 2026 NBA Play-In?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img width=\"2560\" height=\"1718\" src=\"https:\/\/burncitysports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/USATSI_28317706-scaled.jpg\" class=\"attachment- size- wp-post-image\" alt=\"Phoenix Suns Portland Trail Blazers NBA\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"  \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCredit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p>PHOENIX \u2013 There\u2019s a difference between playing more efficient basketball and being positioned better, and for the Phoenix Suns, Tuesday night against the Portland Trail Blazers is about both. Are the Suns the favorites to come out on top?<\/p>\n<p>Thank you for reading this post, don&#8217;t forget to subscribe!<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-114982\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-114982\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/USATSI_28318161_168398863_lowres.jpg\" alt=\"Phoenix SunsPortland Trail Blazers NBA\" width=\"224\" height=\"300\"  \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-114982\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Feb 22, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Suns center Khaman Maluach (10) defends against Portland Trail Blazers forward Kris Murray (24) in the second half at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p>Against the Portland Trail Blazers, Phoenix isn\u2019t just favored; they\u2019re strategically advantaged. Oddsmakers at DraftKings listing the Suns at -4.5 at -105 reflects more than talent; it shows belief in matchup control, home-court energy, and a roster built to exploit Portland\u2019s defensive gaps.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Currently, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DKSportsbook?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">@DKSportsbook<\/a> has the Phoenix Suns as -4.5 point favorites tomorrow night over the Portland Trail Blazers.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/NBA?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">#NBA<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/PhoenixSuns?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">#PhoenixSuns<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/PortlandTrailBlazers?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">#PortlandTrailBlazers<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Ben Bliklen (@benbliklen) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/benbliklen\/status\/2043772710652915814?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">April 13, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Because this isn\u2019t just about advancing, it\u2019s about where advancing leads. A win sets up a meeting with the San Antonio Spurs, a rival that Phoenix has quietly proven it can handle this season. On March 19, the Suns pushed San Antonio to the brink in a 101-100 loss decided by a last-second shot from Victor Wembanyama. Even shorthanded without Dillon Brooks in that matchup, Phoenix demonstrated defensive adaptability and late-game execution, two traits that translate in playoff environments.<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-114416\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-114416\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/USATSI_24903365_168398863_lowres.jpg\" alt=\"Phoenix Suns San Antonio Spurs Devin Booker Jalen Green return Jalen Green Jalen Green injury\" width=\"300\" height=\"208\"  \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-114416\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dec 3, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (right) against San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama in the first half of an NBA Cup game at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p>Lose, and the equation shifts dramatically. A second play-in game against the winner of Golden State Warriors vs. Los Angeles Clippers introduces volatility, experience, and star power, which are variables that shrink Phoenix\u2019s margin for error. Looming beyond it all is the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder, which the Suns surely want to avoid. Why this matters, though, is that knowing your favorites at home is sure to bring a little more confidence to the locker room.<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-114615\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-114615\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/USATSI_28317593.jpg\" alt=\"Phoenix SunsPortland Trail Blazers&#10;NBA\" width=\"300\" height=\"223\"  \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-114615\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Feb 22, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Collin Gillespie (12) against Portland Trail Blazers center Robert Williams III in the first half at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/burncitysports.com\/2026\/04\/10\/devin-booker-suns-out-ankle-lakers\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Is Devin Booker dealing with a serious injury or just resting for the 2026 NBA play-in tournament?<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>Get the BEST Phoenix sports insider information, and exclusive content.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/burncitysports.com\/subscription-plan\/\" data-google-interstitial=\"false\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">SIGN UP HERE<\/a>\u00a0to unlock our premium content!*<br \/>\nReporter Benjamin Bliklen covers the Arizona Diamondbacks, Arizona Cardinals, and Phoenix Suns for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/benbliklen\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">@BenBliklen<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitleddesign-2024-03-07T132916.020.png\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images PHOENIX \u2013 There\u2019s a difference between playing more efficient basketball and being positioned&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":709828,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3791],"tags":[7,6,2065,472,4045,604],"class_list":{"0":"post-709827","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\/116399096723078085","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/709827","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=709827"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/709827\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/709828"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=709827"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=709827"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=709827"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}