Monday night dealt a serious blow to the Phoenix Suns’ hopes of advancing out of the Western Conference NBA Play-In Tournament. They traveled to San Antonio and fell short, 104–102, against the Spurs, who were playing without Victor Wembanyama.
Their 42-29 record dropped them to sixth place in the West, one half-game behind the Dallas Mavericks and Sacramento Kings. The Suns are now in seventh place with a 42-30 record, just 2.5 games ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers.
For the Suns, qualifying for the NBA Play-In Tournament would be an enormous disaster. Over the past year, they have made numerous significant acquisitions, including Bradley Beal and Kevin Durant before the trade deadline this summer from the Washington Wizards.
But on Monday, it got much harder to ignore that event. Not only did they drop a game that they had a chance to win, but the remaining games of the season will provide even greater difficulties.
Against the Spurs, two starters sustained injuries. Beal did not come back after being forced to leave the game due to an injured right ring finger. Fortunately for him, the x-ray results from his ring finger were negative.
Jusuf Nurkic, a center, was the other starter to go down with an injury. With a sprained right ankle, Nurkic had to leave the game and did not make it back into the starting lineup. It will be extremely difficult for the Suns to recover if he is going to miss time.
Their losses will be felt even more when they have to play against tough competition, as it is difficult enough to replace two starters. Phoenix has a difficult road ahead of them because the next ten teams they face this season have a combined winning percentage of.648.
Next up for Phoenix is a game versus the Denver Nuggets, the reigning NBA champions. They will also play twice apiece against the Los Angeles Clippers, New Orleans Pelicans, and Minnesota Timberwolves.
Who can avoid the NBA Play-In Tournament will also be determined in large part by their performance versus the Kings. A team with Devin Booker and Kevin Durant still in the starting lineup is always dangerous, but the Suns will their work cut out for them over the next few weeks.