PHOENIX — The All-Star beak is officially in the rearview mirror, and the Phoenix Suns have some ground to make up.
After starting the year off slow due to injuries and overall lack of chemistry/identity, the Suns have seemingly found their recipe for success as the final stretch of the season nears.
Phoenix approaches this week’s slate of games with a 33-22 record, good enough for the No. 5 seed in the West. They’re six games back from first.
The Suns appear all but set to play their best basketball as the end of the regular season crawls closer – here’s how Bleacher Report projects them to finish:
Phoenix Suns: 49-33
Zach Buckley: “It’s tempting to predict that everything finally clicks for the Suns, if only because the high end outcomes for the Kevin Durant-Devin Booker-Bradley Beal trio are truly jaw-dropping. But they’ve played .600 ball for nearly four months, so predicting a .596 win rate for the final two months feels justified.
“Phoenix’s stars have shined bright with one another (plus-12.7 net rating), but the injury worries so many had for trio have too often come to fruition. The Suns have played 55 games so far and only had three stars together in 22 of them.
“Could they finally catch a break from the injury bug and embark on a win-stacking tear? Sure. Could they lose multiple stars to injuries and have their depth issues exploited? Absolutely. We’re guessing we’ll see something in between those extremes—something pretty similar to what this team has shown to this point.”
The Suns are back in action this Thursday when they face the Dallas Mavericks.