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The Phoenix Suns suffered an embarrassing 140-129 road loss to the shorthanded Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday, jeopardizing their playoff chances.
The Bucks were without superstar forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, who sat out due to left hamstring tendinopathy. However, their offense didn’t skip a beat, as they knocked down a season-high 24 3-pointers, including an NBA-record-tying 18 first-half 3s.
During its offensive onslaught, Milwaukee was led by 31 points apiece from superstar point guard Damian Lillard and big man Bobby Portis.
“They changed their team, obviously, with Giannis not being in there, and Dame is an elite attacker that requires you to really extend your defense on him,” Suns coach Frank Vogel said postgame. “The risk in that is exposing the 3-point line.”
Despite trailing by as many as 25 points, Phoenix received a combined 76 points from stars Devin Booker and Bradley Beal and wing Grayson Allen.
However, the Suns’ lack of defensive intensity hindered them throughout the contest en route to their 11-point defeat. The loss marked their third in their last five games, increasing their likelihood of finishing the season in a play-in position.
On that note, here’s a brief snapshot of Phoenix’s standing in the West playoff picture with 14 games remaining.
Phoenix Suns Playoff Picture: Standings
Following Sunday’s loss to Milwaukee, the Suns (39-29) sit eighth in the West, tied with the seventh-seeded Dallas Mavericks. However, they have a 3.0-game cushion over the ninth-placed Golden State Warriors (35-31) and 10th-placed LA Lakers (36-32).
Additionally, Phoenix has a 6.5-game advantage over the 11th-placed Houston Rockets (32-35). So, it almost surely won’t drop out of play-in positioning.
As for the Suns’ chances of moving up and securing a top-six seed, they sit mere percentage points behind the sixth-seeded Sacramento Kings (38-28). Meanwhile, they trail the fifth-seeded New Orleans Pelicans (41-26) by 2.5 games.
Thus, Phoenix’s placement in the standings could fluctuate considerably over its final 14 games.
Phoenix Suns Playoff Picture: Schedule
Unfortunately for the Suns, they have the NBA’s second-toughest remaining strength of schedule, with an average opponent winning percentage of .563.
11 of Phoenix’s remaining 14 games come against teams above .500, including nine matchups against the West’s top-six teams. Meanwhile, eight of those 14 contests are road games.
So, the team faces an extremely tough road to the playoffs.
Phoenix Suns Playoff Picture: X-factor
Most would probably agree that the Suns have more than enough offensive firepower to finish inside the West’s top six. They have arguably the NBA’s top Big 3, featuring Booker, Beal and superstar forward Kevin Durant. However, they’ve been struggling mightily defensively.
Phoenix ranks 13th in defensive rating (114.6) but has dropped to 23rd over its last 13 games (115.3), going just 6-7 during that stretch.
That is far from contender-level defense. So, if the Suns want to overcome their challenging rest-of-season schedule, they will likely have to find a way to remedy their defensive shortcomings.
Guess the Lakers players!
