Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports To have a long playoff run, Phoenix CAN NOT face this team in round one. The Phoenix Suns are still fighting for playoff positioning, just as the Minnesota Timberwolves, Denver Nuggets, and Oklahoma City Thunder at the top of the Western Conference are tussling out for the top seed. While the Suns are working to avoid the Play-In tournament, they should hope to avoid playing the Denver Nuggets in the first round. It’s not that they can’t beat Denver; Phoenix has shown in the playoffs and this year’s regular season that they can match up with them. Any team with plans to knock off the Nuggets must be playing their best basketball when they play them. No exceptions. Phoenix is a team still figuring out a few things. Bradley Beal recently became the full-time point guard and took on primary defensive matchups, impacting the Valley’s offensive and defensive systems. Vogel says that Beal's fg attempts are down the past couple weeks but that's by design. https://t.co/Hirh4PVWgY pic.twitter.com/8z6NRMWKRs— Mark McClune (@MarkMcClune) April 4, 2024 Phoenix has more work to do to set themselves up to reach their goals. Playing Denver in the first round would force them to play hero ball at times, which has been effective for the team in the past but is not a sustainable solution. Devin Booker and Kevin Durant single-handedly made last year’s second-round tango series competitive with two miraculous performances. https://www.youtube.com/embed/elTl1mP_o ... 0&start=15
The Thunder and the Wolves are difficult first-round matchups. If the Valley faces either of them, they most certainly will be underdogs, and rightfully so. Both teams possess lots of young talent, continuity, and great coaching. These teams are easier opponents than Denver would be. Both those squads deal with more uncertainty than Denver does. The path for the Suns to be successful in the postseason has to predicate around momentum. Oklahoma City and Minnesota are youthful teams without a history of playoff success. Both team’s age is something Phoenix can exploit and be the catalyst for momentum building. The Suns wouldn’t have the home-court advantage in either series, but they would have the experience advantage, an invaluable asset. The vibes have been good with the Suns since their disastrous loss against the Spurs on March 25. Denver is a playoff disruptor. To be fully ready to play with them, Phoenix must build more continuity, achieved through playoff series victories. Even if the Suns win their remaining regular season games and avoid the Play-In, Denver is the most likely team to completely negate all their progress and send them home in the first round, sending the organization into a frenzy and not a fun one.
Source: https://www.brightsideofthesun.com/2024 ... e-playoffs