The Phoenix Suns went 10-5 in November. The squad had a five-game win streak during it and competed with some of the Western Conference’s best teams, but ended the month on a two-game losing streak. 2-4 entering the month, Phoenix is now 12-9 and are winners of six of their last ten. They find themselves slotted into the 7th seed in the Western Conference.
Here’s a peek at the team’s schedule for December.
* **Monday, December 1st @ Los Angeles Lakers**
* **Friday, December 5th @ Houston Rockets**
* **Monday, December 8th @ Minnesota Timberwolves**
* **Wednesday, December 10** @ **Oklahoma City Thunder** (NBA Cup Game)
* **TBD based on NBA Cup Game 1 results**
All four of these teams are currently in the top six of the Western Conference Standings, and the four teams are on a combined 23-game winning streak, with the Thunder winning their last 11. Monday will be the team’s first look at the two-seeded Lakers, and Friday will be their first time playing against Kevin Durant since he was traded in the offseason. The Lakers are the only team the Suns have not played from their division yet.
After the Timberwolves look to get revenge on the Suns [for their comeback win against them](/suns-scores-results/93223/unbelievable-comeback-114-113-win-turnovers-booker-struggles-gillespie-game-winner-goodwin-edwards), the Suns will play the Thunder in the first round of the NBA Cup Quarterfinals. Phoenix competed with the Thunder in one of their best games of the season despite the loss on Friday.
If the Suns beat the Thunder, they will play the winner of the Lakers/Spurs Cup Game, and if they win that game, they’ll play the winner of the East Bracket in the cup championship, which will NOT count against their final standings record. If they lose to the Thunder, they’ll play the loser of the Lakers/Spurs game.
The Lakers and Timberwolves games will be on Peacock, while the contest against the Thunder will be on Amazon Prime Video.
* **Thursday, December 18th vs Golden State Warriors**
* **Saturday, December 20th @ Golden State Warriors**
* **Tuesday, December 23rd vs Los Angeles Lakers**
Three straight games against their division, the Suns will get a chance to have a few home games and get revenge on the Warriors for beating them on November 4th. These games could be possible return dates for Jalen Green. He injured his right hamstring on November 8th against the Clippers, and it was announced on November 11th that he would be re-evaluated in 4-6 weeks. December 23rd is six weeks from November 11th. If his re-evaluation goes well, he could return to action for one of these games.
Something different about the team’s schedule around this time of year? No Christmas game. After playing four straight years on Christmas, the Suns will not be playing on the holiday after trading away Kevin Durant and projecting in the bottom half of the Western Conference standings.
* **Friday, December 26th @ New Orleans Pelicans**
* **Saturday, December 26th@ New Orleans Pelicans**
* **Monday, December 29th @ Washington Wizards**
* **Wednesday, December 31st** @ **Cleveland Cavaliers**
The Suns will play their first “baseball” series of the year when they head down to Louisiana and face the Pelicans two straight times as the road team. Earlier this season, when the two teams faced off, Grayson Allen set his career-high for points with 42, and set the franchise record for most threes made in a game with 10.
After a few nights off, the Suns will head down to the Nation’s Capital, where they’ll face the NBA’s worst team, the Washington Wizards, who have the least amount of wins in the NBA. Then, to end the year, Phoenix will head to Cleveland to face the Cavaliers. After a 64-win regular season last year, the team has started 12-9 and has lost four of its last six, but remains in the East’s top half.
As mentioned above, the Suns went 10-5 in the month of November. Only 6.9% of voters believed that would be their record this month, with 6-9 garnering 20% of the vote. It is safe to say that Phoenix exceeded the community’s expectations.
So let’s do it again. The team will have 12 games in December (13 if they make it to the NBA Cup Finale). How do you think the Suns will do in December? How do you think they’ll do in the NBA Cup?