Can Suns Seriously Make Play-In Push?

Don't look now, but the Phoenix Suns might be for real.

The Suns move into their next slate of games with a 9-6 record, currently good enough for the West's seventh spot early in the year.

There's obviously plenty of time for that to change - for better or worse - though the initial surprise of the Suns has turned Phoenix from an expected basement dweller to potential play-in squad.

Is that realistically on the menu?

The Short Answer.... Yes

The Western Conference, as expected, again is shaping up to be a blood bath in terms of jockeying for playoff position. The top six teams all have double-digit wins on the year while two more (Phoenix being one) sit right behind at nine.

That's a stark difference compared to the other side of the bracket, as the East only has three 10-win teams.

If the Suns were on the other side of the country, they'd be tied for the fifth-seed with Atlanta - who they led by as much as 22 points before ultimately collapsing last weekend.

Case in point: it's tough sledding in the West, but the Suns have shown they're capable.

New Identity, New Vibes

First-year coach Jordan Ott has done a tremendous job of not only establishing a new culture in Phoenix after names such as Mike Budenholzer and Frank Vogel failed to do so, but also the Suns have an identity on both ends of the floor.

The Suns are tenth in total net rating in the NBA while also shifting their approach to a more three-point heavy attack, having made the third-most shots from downtown as of this article's publish.

Phoenix looks impressive thus far, even with a barrage of injuries that includes Jalen Green being sidelined for all but one game to begin the year. With his return, that opens up the Suns' attack even more.

There's still shortcomings Phoenix needs to shore up. They typically are outrebounded on a nightly basis (20th in rebounds per game) while averaging a whopping 16.3 turnovers per night.

The Suns also are the fourth-highest team in fouls per night, though Ott has been clear Phoenix will leave with that in exchange for their physical brand of basketball on that end of the court.

Can't Control Who You Play

The biggest gripe has been Phoenix's schedule, as their road to a 9-6 record has been light compared to others.

We'll see how battle-tested the Suns are over the course of their next few games, as 11 of their next 12 matchups are against teams with a winning record - which includes every team ahead of them in the West in that stretch.

At this moment in time, the Suns have the second-toughest strength of schedule remaining in the NBA according to Tankathon.

We feel like we know a lot about this Phoenix team at the moment, though the next two-three weeks will give us another layer to analyze and evaluate as natural ups/downs of the season accrue.

But, as of now, the Suns have shown plenty of signs surrounding their capability to be a dangerous team in this league.

Through 15 games, Phoenix has earned the ability to at least place itself play-in conversations.

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