The Phoenix Suns this year are the exact polar opposite of the definition of ‘consistency’. Unless you consider them to be consistently inconsistent of course. Hell, I might even let you have them pegged as inconsistently consistent. But that’s a stretch. There have been a number of factors away from the court which have contributed to this inconsistency. Early in the season they were having an offensive/defensive identity crisis, then Coach Terry Porter announced they would give Shaq a night off on back to back games, then they weren’t giving Shaq enough touches, then Terry Porter got fired, then Steve Nash’s back started acting up again, then Amare Stoudemire needed eye surgery and was lost for the season.
I would hate to make excuses for the Suns (even though I clearly just did, see above) but as of about a week and a half ago everyone, including myself, gave up hope on the Suns making the playoffs. But wait, not so fast! The Suns have reeled off four straight wins and are facing a fairly light schedule the remainder of the season for their final 13 games. Could they do it?
Given the fact that they are battling the equally inconsistent Dallas Mavericks for that 8th and final playoff spot in the West, i’d have to say they still have hope. But it won’t be a cakewalk, as Dallas has a 3 game advantage on Phoenix right now in the loss column, and Dallas has an equally light schedule the remainder of the season. Suns fans must have been seething with anger last week as the Mavericks won 2 of their last 3 games by only one basket on last minute/second heroic plays by their star player Dirk Nowitzki.
When teams get into situations like the Phoenix Suns are in right now you start schedule watching and try and go out and win every single game that you have remaining to try and keep your playoff hopes alive. For some teams that turns disastrous with a string of losses, but for other teams that is the exact sort of pressure they need to excel on a nightly basis. A great example of the latter was the Golden State Warriors a couple of years ago when they closed out the season hot to take the 8th and final spot, and carried that momentum forward into the playoffs when they took down the #1 seeded Dallas Mavericks. So now is the time to see what teams are made of under pressure.
To add to the pressure on the Phoenix Suns, if the race to that 8th spot comes down to a tiebreaker after the 82 games are wrapped up it is decided by which team won more games in the head to head match-ups. As it currently stands the Suns are trailing the Mavericks 1-2 in the season series between the two clubs. But there is one game left in their season series, and it is imperative for the Suns to win that one to tie the season series and also to gain a valuable full game on the Mavericks in the W and L columns.
For both the Mavericks and the Suns, the most important game of their season’s thus far is scheduled for Sunday, April 5th at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC. The Mavericks will be hosting the Suns, and depending how the team’s perform leading up to that game, it could be quite a claw it out battle for that ultra important heads up match. Mark your calendar’s.
