Playoff Preview: Ranking Potential Playoff Opponents for the Phoenix Suns

The NBA Playoffs are around the corner. It’s never too early to take a peak at the landscape of the Western Conference.

Scouting potential opponents comes with several disclaimers, including health, individual matchups, and more.

Here are my favorite to least favorite matchups in the first round for the Phoenix Suns. This list focuses on realistic matchups as the Suns sit in the 6th seed.

Phoenix Suns v Cleveland Cavaliers — Photo by Nick Cammett/Getty Images

Here are the current Western Conference Standings:

1) Oklahoma City Thunder: 45-20 (26-7 home record)
2) Denver Nuggets: 45-20 (27-6 home record)
3) Minnesota Timberwolves: 45-21 (23-8 home record)
4) Los Angeles Clippers: 41-23 (22-10 home record)
5) New Orleans Pelicans: 39-25 (18-12 home record)
6) Phoenix Suns: 38-27 (21-14 home record)
7) Sacramento Kings: 37-27 (18-12 home record)
8) Dallas Mavericks: 37-28 (19-15 home record)
9) Los Angeles Lakers: 36-30 (24-11 home record)
10) Golden State Warriors: 34-30 (17-17 home record)

Since the Suns will likely finish in the 5-8 range, I’ll focus on teams slotted in the 1-4 seeds in the first group.