First, let’s remind everyone what the Phoenix Suns were playing for tonight: nothing.
Not the same ‘nothing’ they played for in the 2015-18 seasons, even though we saw Josh Jackson, Damian Jones, Mike Longabardi and Alvin Gentry (former Suns from different eras, now Kings) back on the Suns floor for a cameo and a lack of cohesion from the Suns C team that gave me memories of those ugly years. Josh certainly felt at home, I’m sure. He even committed a technical foul by elbowing Ish Wainright in the face on a rebound.
No, this time the Suns are playing for ‘nothing’ in game 82 because they have already locked up the top playoff seed with a 64-18 record that’s a full seven games better than any other team in the NBA — the widest margin since the vaunted 2014-15 Warriors.