The Suns currently sit at 42-30, which is barely good for the 8th seed, avoiding the chaos of the play-in tournament. The Western Conference is loaded this season, with depth across the board and plenty of talented teams vying for one of the top six seeds.
There is no time to waste. The goal is simple: solidify yourself a 7-game series and enter said series healthy. Phoenix’s schedule won’t be easy, but at full strength, this team is out of excuses and time. They need to stack wins, plain and simple.
Hard pass on the chaos and uncertainty that comes with the play-in, especially looking at potential opponents. No, I do not care if it’s home versus an inferior opponent and the fact that they would (likely) get two cracks at it to solidify their spot.
Teams that finish seeds 1-6 in the standings of each conference are guaranteed a playoff spot. Teams that finish seeds 7-10 in the standings enter the Play-In Tournament. These teams fight for the seventh and eighth playoff seeds.
Here’s where things stand as of now for seeds five through eleven:
Keep an eye on the Los Angeles Clippers (44-26), who lost on Sunday and sit just 0.5 games ahead of the 5-seed Pelicans.
Note: These standings are relative to where New Orleans is in terms of “games back”
