Will the Suns win a playoff sequence? Mat Ishbia thinks so

It would not be the first time Ishbia expressed his confidence in the potential of the Phoenix Suns. To open the 2025-26 season, The Ringer predicted the Suns’ protection to end at the backside of the league, an assertion that Ishbia vehemently rejected. The Suns stamped his phrases with an exclamation level, ending in the high 10 in defensive ranking. Can the Suns do it a second time and ship Phoenix its first playoff sequence win after three years of disappointment?

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The reply to that may rely on who they play.

The following are my predictions of how the Suns might fare against the presumptive high 6 groups in the Western Conference in a seven-game playoff sequence.

Suns 0 – Thunder 4

The Thunder are the staff that the Phoenix Suns are building to be. It was very clear in last yr’s playoff matchups that the Thunder constantly turned aggressive defensive stress on the perimeter and energetic fingers into turnovers that sparked eight- to twelve-point runs. That’s precisely what the Suns have described this iteration of the roster to become over the course of the remaining years of Booker’s contract. I do not think they get there this season. If the Suns need to keep away from another first-round exit, they must keep away from the play-in and the Thunder.

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Suns 2 – Spurs 4

If there’s anything the preseason has proven us, it’s that the Suns have the Spurs quantity. Despite this, I think handling Wemby, in the method in which the Suns have been in a position to comprise him, takes its toll, and the supporting solid of Castle, Harper, Fox, and the refs are going to show to be too much for the Suns to take down. However, I do not think they go quietly into the evening in this situation and rating at least two wins in a six-game scuffle.

*In the occasion of a Wemby-less Spurs. Suns 4, Spurs 1. Last yr, Victor Wembanyama performed a complete of 1,866 minutes in the common season. He went on to play an further 750 minutes in the Spurs’ Finals run, totaling 2,616. In his rookie yr, he totaled 71 video games performed and 2,106 minutes. He adopted up with 1,527 minutes and 46 video games performed his sophomore season. If Wemby struggles to keep on the court, expect a very completely different playoff expertise from the Spurs this season.

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Suns 1 – Rockets 4

Houston is a staff the Suns do not match up nicely against. They have athletic defenders on the perimeter, measurement inside, and elite scorers that can close out video games in the clutch. The Suns struggled in their common season matchups against the Rockets last season, dropping all 4. The Rockets are in a related place to the Suns, where they are leaning on a second yr of continuity and improved damage luck to improve off last season’s disappointing end. While I do not think Houston is essentially higher than groups that I’ll talk about as attainable sequence wins for the Suns, I do think they are one of the worst postseason matchups the Suns could face.

Suns 4 – Nuggets 3

Nikola Jokic has finished his time with the Nuggets, and it reveals. By this time next yr or the yr after, he will be teaming up with Luka on the Lakers and the Nuggets will sink back into the depths of the Western Conference.

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Until then, I think the Suns, like every staff in the league, will have their fingers full with Jokic. This yr with Maluach and presumably a healthy Mark Williams, the Suns will have the size and power to at least make issues troublesome for the two-time MVP. Denver is, at the finish of the day, a finesse staff, and the Suns’ new bodily protection could give Denver’s potent offense issues they have not been in a position to give them in previous matchups.

Still, I think the Suns will need to run the complete up when Jokic hits the bench, and the position gamers will have to ship an outsized efficiency for that to occur. Add to that the altitude, and this is a sequence that screams out for the Suns to secure a 3-4 seed if they need to advance against the Nuggets.

Suns 4 – Lakers 3

The Lakers are retooling for life after Bron, but by the time the playoffs roll around, they should have most of the kinks labored out. There are questions about the defensive acumen of the Lakers’ beginning guards, and the Booker/Green backcourt may show too much for even the best defensive efforts of Luka and Reeves.

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Answers to Luka Doncic on offense are exhausting to come by, and as the Suns saw in ’22, home-court benefit would not guarantee anything, but if the Suns sneak into a 5 or 6 seed, I like their possibilities against the Lakers higher than a potential matchup against the Rockets or Nuggets.

Suns 4 – Timberwolves 1

Close your eyes and repeat after me. Suns first-round matchup against the Timberwolves. Now say this seven instances in the mirror every morning until the playoffs begin. This is the clearest path to backing up Ishbia’s daring claim. They moved off of the measurement that made Minnesota a troublesome matchup in hopes of Lamelo being something he hasn’t confirmed to be in the NBA: a winner. If the Timberwolves make it through the common season without fully unraveling, the Suns will mop them up in the first spherical.

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There are still a lot of questions to be answered about who each of these groups are going to be by the time the playoffs roll around. There may be some younger upstart groups, such as the Jazz or Trail Blazers, that sneak into the high 6. But it seems to me important that Ishbia and the Suns group really feel optimistic internally. He did not set any expectations for the 45-win Suns staff to win a playoff sequence last season. Mat Ishbia is always assured, but never full of expletive. If he says it will occur. I give it a 60 p.c likelihood that it will. That’s a quantity.

To me, it all relies upon on who we play, but others might think otherwise. Let me know in the chat what groups you think give the Suns the best likelihood to advance, or which groups you think the Suns need to keep away from at all prices.