The Phoenix Suns made up some ground in the Western Conference standings on Sunday. Thanks to their win over the Lakers and losses by the Pelicans and Mavericks, Kevin Durant and company are currently sitting in 6th place, the final non-Play In postseason spot. But they’ll have to be at their best for the final 24 games of the regular season, as Phoenix has the toughest remaining schedule in the NBA.
Phoenix Suns Have Toughest Remaining Schedule In The NBA
No Sunday scaries in the Valley!
Enjoy your week, Suns fans 🫡 pic.twitter.com/4JmrlU3U9N
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) February 26, 2024
Things started slowly for the Suns this season. Due to various injuries, the team’s new “big 3” had limited playing time together during the first couple of months, and they were 19-18 back in early January. But they began to gel as the 2024 calendar year rolled along, and they are now 14-6 in their last 20 games to improve their record to 34-24.
They’ll have a good chance to improve that mark in the coming days, as they are set for two straight home games against the 12th place Houston Rockets, but that will be the end of their easy stretch.
No team has tougher opponents the rest of the way than Phoenix. After their games against Houston, 3 of their next 4 games are against teams currently in the top-3 in their respective conferences, including two against the mighty Boston Celtics. Then they’ll take on the Milwaukee Bucks on the road.
Final Ten Games Are Particularly Brutal
Current West standings. Most difficult schedules remaining (in order, via @tankathon):
1. Suns
2. Spurs
3. Jazz
4. Bucks
5. Kings
6. Lakers
7. Hornets
8. Blazers
9. Clippers
10. Pelicans25. Warriors
How are you feeling about the Lakers’ chances right now? pic.twitter.com/xn75z1mpcC
— Trevor Lane (@Trevor_Lane) February 24, 2024
The 10 game stretch to close the season for the Suns is downright brutal. Each of those contests will be against a top-7 team, including 2 against each of the Timberwolves, Pelicans, and Clippers. They do have two games against the Spurs and will play against the Hornets and Raptors, but the overall winning percentage of their remaining opponents is 56.9%.
The Utah Jazz, who are currently 3 games back of the 10th seed and final Play-In spot, have the second-toughest remaining schedule. The Spurs, Hornets, and Lakers round out the top-5.
The Orlando Magic have the easiest remaining schedule in the NBA. They still have three games to play against the Hornets, and one each against the Wizards and Pistons.
Add Sportslens to your Google News Feed!
