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Did any of you really think this was going to be easy?
Over a month ago Dave posted an article which included a poll asking if the Suns season would already be considered a success after 55 games if they missed the playoffs. My comment at the time was basically that I would consider the season a success if the Suns controlled what they could control and still missed the playoffs because other teams were just playing too awesome.
With 10 games to go that's still where I'm at as the Suns are taking care of business while the Grizzlies and Mavericks are keeping the pressure hot and heavy. Our guys are going to have to win their way into the playoffs - there will be no backing in.
Wednesday March 26th Key Western Conference Results:
Phoenix Suns 99 Washington Wizards 93 (Recap) - There was a time in the middle of the 3rd quarter of last night's game (you know - the time where Phoenix was up 75-50) where I remember thinking - man the Suns are going to cruise to victory. Then in standard Cardiac Suns fashion they allowed the Wizards to finish the game on a 43-24 run. Fortunately the laws of mathematics suggest that if you are up 25 and the other team outscores you by 19 the rest of the game you still win by 6. Towards the end of the game there were a few John Wall drives which were so heavily uncontested at the basket that I was fairly certain there had been a foul on the perimeter and everyone just stopped playing. The last of those dropped the Suns lead to 3 with just 90 seconds remaining until Jared Dudley & A Conditional 2nd Round Pick hit a three pointer from the "W" in Wizards to seal the victory - capping a 3-0 road trip for our purple clad heroes (and Shavlik Randolph).
Memphis Grizzlies 91 Utah Jazz 87 (Recap) - At the 6:35 mark of the 3rd quarter last night the Jazz held a 16 point lead over Memphis. At the 4:00 minute mark of the 4th quarter they still held a 7 point advantage. For 44 minutes of game action in Salt Lake last night it looked like the Suns were going to see one of their playoff rivals suffer a pretty bad loss. Then Utah remembered they were the worst team in the Western Conference and Memphis remembered they were 29-11 since January 1st. Those two things combined saw the Grizz close the game on a 14-3 run and get the game they needed. Zach Randolph posted a 22 point, 13 rebound effort to lead Memphis to a victory that made me flip on The Americans to salvage what remained of the night.
Current Western Conference Standings:
| TEAM | W | L | PCT | GB | L10 | STREAK |
| 1.San Antonio |
55 | 16 | .775 | - | 10-0 | WON 15 |
| 2. Oklahoma City |
52 | 19 | .732 | 3 |
6-4 | LOST 1 |
| 3. LA Clippers |
50 | 22 | .694 | 5.5 | 8-2 | LOST 1 |
| 4. Houston | 48 | 22 | .686 | 6.5 | 7-3 | WON 4 |
| 5. Portland |
45 | 27 | .625 | 10.5 | 3-7 | LOST 3 |
| 6. Golden State |
44 | 27 | .620 | 11 | 7-3 | LOST 1 |
| 7. Memphis |
43 | 28 | .606 | 12 | 8-2 | WON 3 |
| 8. SUNS |
43 | 29 | .597 | 12.5 |
7-3 | WON 5 |
| - Dallas |
43 | 29 | .597 | 12.5 | 7-3 | WON 1 |
Thursday March 27th Western Conference Games of Significance:
Trail Blazers @ Hawks - Hey Atlanta, remember when we beat you on Monday? No hard feelings 'bout that, right? If y'all wouldn't mind beating the Blazers I'd consider it a personal favor. Anyway. The Hawks actually do need this game with the Knicks just two games behind them for the lamest playoff spot in sports so I guess that's something they....want? LaMarcus Aldridge claims he's playing for Portland tonight after a 7 game absence.
Clippers @ Mavericks - Dallas can't beat another Top 3 team in the West for the 2nd time in 3 days, right? I mean they probably can but it would be pretty disappointing to me. Frankly I think the best thing that happened was the Clippers losing to the Pelicans last night and Chris Paul having the worst shooting night of his career (0/12) - they probably won't be that bad again.