Where Suns Playoff Chances Stand Entering Weekend

PHOENIX — With just nine games remaining in the regular season, the Phoenix Suns have little time to change their fate.

Phoenix, sitting at 40-33, enter the weekend of play still in the Western Conference's seventh seed, a position they've held (unfortunately) for months now.

The Suns' recent losing skid of six-of-seven games has all but cemented the inability to climb into the top six of the conference, ensuring Phoenix will participate in the play-in tournament.

According to ESPN's basketball power index, the Suns have just a 1.4% chance to jump into a top-six spot before the end of the season.

The Suns are 3.5 games back from the Houston Rockets in a jumbled standings that has seeds 3-6 all within 3.5 games of each other entering the final stretch of basketball.

In comparison, the Rockets have a 99.2% chance to make the top six.

Even before Phoenix's losing streak, the Suns weren't able to get out of the seventh spot after going 7-3 in a ten-game span.

It can be some trying times for the fan base and locker room, though words from players such as Jalen Green put things into perspective:

"I think Book (Devin Booker) said it best, we kind of dug ourselves a hole trying to get to that sixth seed. But right now it's just all trying," Green said after the loss to Denver earlier this week.

"We just got to figure it out and go into playing playoffs, whatever the case may be, just learn, learn from each game and stay together."  

All but three games on Phoenix's remaining schedule are on the road, with three of their final four games coming against tough tests in Houston, Los Angeles Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder to conclude the regular season.

The Charlotte Hornets and Orlando Magic certainly aren't easy matchups coming down the stretch, either.

Phoenix, at this point in time, is very much projected to appear in the play-in, though even their seeding is under question with the Los Angeles Clippers just three games back of them.

At this point in time, the Suns are simply hoping to get healthy and figure out their rotations for postseason basketball.

Regardless of play-in or playoffs, this season has been such a huge success for the Suns after completely flipping previous expectations upside down.

But while there was some hope to potentially avoid the play-in tournament, the Suns are virtually locked into that spot.