Apr 28, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) shoots against the Minnesota Timberwolves during the first half of game four of the first round for the 2024 NBA playoffs at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Stats Show Suns Have Toughest Start to NBA Season

Originally posted on Phoenix Suns on SI | By Kevin Hicks | Last updated Aug 16, 2024 1:38 PM ET

The 82-game slate for the Phoenix Suns was officially released yesterday - and the reactions have been polarizing, with some lamenting about a very difficult final three weeks of the seasons, while others were overjoyed about what appears to be an extremely soft February slate.

Not much noise has been made about how challenging the first month of the season could be - it seems as if that has been lost in the fray of analyzing the bigger picture of the season.

The Suns have the hardest strength of schedule of any team in the NBA 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 previous NBA playoff team - per winning percentages from last season - with a nearly 56% combined win rate for opponents.

The first month features three dates with the Los Angeles Lakers, two with then defending Western Conference champions Dallas Mavericks, a pair of meetings with the Los Angeles Clippers, with singular duels against the Miami Heat, Oklahoma City Thunder, New York Knicks, and Orlando Magic mixed in as well.

This slate is one that absolutely cannot be taken lightly, as there are only three teams the Suns are set to play during this stretch that did not participate in at least the play-in tournament in 2023-24 - those squads are the Portland Trail Blazers, Utah Jazz, and Brooklyn Nets.

With only three games that the Suns are clearly favored in, they could face a rocky start akin to last season - the ultimate hope is that the new leadership on the sideline in Mike Budenholzer will make a world of change on a game-to-game basis - and that the Suns can now navigate difficult stretches with consistency.

The regular season debut for the 2024-25 Suns is set for October 23 in L.A. against the Clippers.

This article first appeared on Phoenix Suns on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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