PHOENIX — The Phoenix Suns’ 82-game schedule was officially unveiled yesterday — and reactions were polarizing, with some lamenting a very tough final three weeks of the season, while others rejoiced in what appears to be an extremely soft February schedule.
There has not been much talk about how difficult the first month of the season might be – it seems to have been lost in the shuffle of analysing the overall situation of the season.
The Suns have the toughest schedule of any NBA team through November 😳 pic.twitter.com/9x8F9X4hxv
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) August 15, 2024
The Suns are set to face the toughest October/November slate of any team in the previous NBA playoffs – in terms of winning percentage from last season – with a combined win rate of nearly 56% for opponents.
The first month includes three dates with the Los Angeles Lakers, two with the reigning Western Conference champions, the Dallas Mavericks, a pair of meetings with the Los Angeles Clippers, with singular duels against the Miami Heat, the Oklahoma City Thunder, the New York Knicks and the Orlando Magic also.
This list absolutely cannot be taken lightly, as there are only three teams the Suns are expected to play during this span that have not participated in at least the play-in tournament in 2023-24 – those teams are the Portland Trail Blazers, Utah Jazz and Brooklyn Nets.
With only three games in which the Suns are clear favorites, they could face a difficult start similar to last season – the ultimate hope is that Mike Budenholzer’s new leadership on the sidelines will make a world of difference as the games go on – and that the Suns can now weather the tough times with consistency.
The Suns’ 2024-25 regular season debut is scheduled for Oct. 23 in Los Angeles against the Clippers.
