PHOENIX — The Suns lost to the Houston Rockets on Tuesday night, and now they head into Wednesday’s Mavericks Vs Suns game with little left to play for in the standings but plenty to sort out on the floor. Phoenix is effectively locked into the No. 7 spot in the Western Conference, two games ahead of the Los Angeles Clippers with only three games remaining for Los Angeles.
That leaves the bigger question not in the bracket, but in the effort. Phoenix should still want to win this game, even against a Dallas Mavericks team that is tanking, because the Suns have not looked like a group ready to coast into the finish line. They are 0-4 against the spread in their last four games and have missed bookmakers’ expectations by an average of 7.6 points per game over that stretch.
Devin Booker’s workload is part of the reason the final week has become such a balancing act. Booker played 38:32 in the loss to Houston, and he has fallen short of his modest prop in two of his last three games and nine of his last 14. Douglas Farmer put the point plainly: Booker should prioritize next week, not this week.
Read Also: Devin Booker’s 65-game rule snub adds pressure as Suns chase playoffs
That is the tension inside Phoenix’s last few games. The Suns are on the second night of a back-to-back, the standings are nearly settled, and the opponent is in a very different place, yet the game still carries real stakes for how Phoenix wants to look entering what comes next. A team that is effectively locked into the No. 7 seed can afford to think beyond Wednesday, but it cannot afford to look flat while it gets there.
Read Also: Mavericks Vs Clippers: Kawhi Leonard prop, playoff race loom
The safest read is that Phoenix will keep its eyes on the bigger picture and still try to close strongly. Dallas may be tanking, but the Suns have enough reason — from Booker’s usage to their recent run against the number — to treat this as more than a formality.
