Phoenix Suns need 'last two' vs. Kings, Pistons before NBA All-Star break
The Phoenix Suns have a chance to go into the NBA All-Star break trending upward even after Saturday’s heartbreaking loss at Golden State on Stephen Curry’s game winning 3 with 0.7 seconds left.
Fifth in the West, the Suns (31-22) play Sacramento and Detroit in a home back-to-back before the break starting Tuesday at Footprint Center. They’re 5-2 in their last seven games.
“We understand how important it is for us to get a win, important for us to stay at five and continue to move up,” Suns star guard Bradley Beal said after Monday’s practice.
Phoenix is five games behind Denver (36-17) for the fourth spot, which gives a team homecourt advantage in an opening-round postseason matchup, but the Suns have the same record as the Pelicans (31-22).
The Suns are 1-0 against New Orleans, but they face them two more times, in April.
“We’re in a really good spot, but we could be in a better spot,” Beal continued. “We’ve got to get these last two. After break, we all know it’s downhill after that. We’re confident where we are. Our energy is great. Our focus is where it needs to be.”
The Suns conclude the second of the back-to-back Wednesday against the Pistons (8-44) in what will be the return of Monty Williams, who coached the Suns to the 2021 NBA Finals and to a franchise-best 64 wins the following season in winning NBA Coach of the Year honors for 2021-22.
Detroit has the NBA’s worst record. While the Kings are a tough matchup and the Pistons will likely rally around Williams against the team that fired him after Phoenix fell to the Nuggets in the Western Conference semifinals, these are winnable games for the Suns.
“We know we got a last tough two,” Beal said. “The ones before the break are always, everybody is looking forward to getting on their flights and going wherever they’re going, but we want to be a championship team, every game matters, especially the last two and the two after the break.”
Phoenix is just a half game ahead of Sacramento (30-22). The Suns are 1-2 versus the Kings after beating them, 119-117, Jan. 16 in Phoenix, on Kevin Durant’s game winning free throws with 1.7 seconds left, but they face them five times due to an extra matchup in the NBA In-Season Tournament.
Dallas (30-23) only trails Phoenix by a game as the season series is tied 1-1. The Suns and Mavericks meet one more time Feb. 22 in their first game out of the All-Star break.
Then the Suns are at Houston Feb. 23 in the second of a back-to-back.
"A little bit of both. You got to take a little bit of a reset. Recharge the body, recharge the brain."
Bradley Beal on All-Star break. Plans to do some work, too.
On Royce O'Neale debut: "He came in Golden State game and challenged us to communicate a little bit better." #Suns pic.twitter.com/VleXMJRnbu— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) February 12, 2024
“Every game is going to matter going forward,” Suns coach Frank Vogel said.
The Suns are fully healthy outside of Damion Lee (knee), who hasn’t played all season. Vogel said Lee is “on track” to return right before end of the regular season, but he hasn’t done any on-court work yet.
“Hopefully at some point towards the end of the regular season we can start talking about where he's at in terms of getting back on the floor," Vogel said.
Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix Suns look to close strong in back-to-back before All-Star break
