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The Phoenix Suns are one of the favorites to make NBA history this season.
According to the latest odds by Sportsbetting.ag, the Suns have the best odds (+210) to win the Western Conference and the third-best odds (+500) to win the championship. Phoenix has one of the most lethal Big 4s in the NBA in Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Deandre Ayton and Chris Paul.
The Suns are in fourth place in the Western Conference standings with a record of 43-35. They are a perfect 6-0 with Durant in the lineup. Phoenix takes on the San Antonio Spurs, Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers to close out the regular season.
“According to Basketball-Reference simulations, the Suns have a 97.5% shot of finishing in the No. 4 seed,” Kevin Zimmerman of ArizonaSports.com wrote on April 3. “There are sub-2% odds of landing in the fifth or sixth seeds and without homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Phoenix has already avoided a play-in game possibility.”
Kevin Durant Talks About His Chemistry With Deandre Ayton
After the Suns beat the Oklahoma City Thunder on April 2, Durant told Duane Rankin of AZCentral.com that there’s “definitely room to grow” in terms of his chemistry with Ayton.
“Definitely room to grow,” Durant said. “The more reps that we can get, the better we can get. DA is a huge target. He has touch out to the middy. So if we can get him the ball in his positions to score, then that’s gonna make us even more dangerous. Sometimes I drive to the rim, his man gonna come up and help sometimes to contest my midrange and I can just dump it off. I can be more better. I can be better those situations and be more patient. Wait for DA a little bit more in the post, but we gonna get better at it.”
Durant is averaging 26.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.7 assists with the Suns while shooting 60.4% from the field, 51.9% from beyond the arc and 88.6% from the free-throw line. The two-time Finals MVP already has three 30-point games. Meanwhile, Ayton is putting up 18.0 points and 10.0 rebounds per game in 65 starts. The big man has 35 double-doubles.
Who Is the Suns’ Most Difficult Possible Playoff Matchup in the 1st Round?
Kellan Olson of ArizonaSports.com believes the Golden State Warriors are the Suns’ most difficult possible playoff matchup in the first round. Even though the Warriors have been up and down this season, they are still the defending champions.
“Pretty self-explanatory here why Golden State runs away with this category compared to the field,” Olson wrote. “It’s a top-three dynasty in the history of the sport with a few accentuating pieces that have been along for previous rides, like Payton for last year’s championship and Kevon Looney since 2018. The Suns are the better team. But when Phoenix is up 2-1 in the series and has a five-point lead in the fourth quarter on the road, Golden State will both not be fazed and know exactly what it is doing on the floor during those pivotal half-dozen moments that swing a series, locking into a level that brings out title-caliber basketball. Are the Suns capable of achieving that? We’re just going to wait and see.”
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