NBA playoff standings: Suns clinch playoff berth on last day
Apr 14, 2024, 3:01 PM | Updated: 3:02 pm
Head coach Frank Vogel of the Phoenix Suns address his team during game against the San Antonio Spurs in the second half at Frost Bank Center on March 23, 2024 in San Antonio, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Cortes/Getty Images)
(Photo by Ronald Cortes/Getty Images)
The Phoenix Suns rebuilt around the Big Three of Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal expecting to compete atop the Western Conference standings this regular season. Instead, first-year coach Frank Vogel’s team entered the final week of 2023-24 hoping to avoid the play-in tournament.
After a 125-106 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Phoenix Suns have achieved that and will be the sixth seed in the playoff bracket. They will take on the Timberwolves in the first round.
Phoenix got a massive amount of help from the Los Angeles Lakers, who beat the New Orleans Pelicans in order to bump the Pelicans down to the play-in tournament. Phoenix required a Pelicans loss to move up.
In other happenings, the Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets both won to be the top two seeds in the West. A Nuggets loss would have given the Suns a rough first-round matchup with Denver. Instead, Phoenix gets a favorable matchup with Minnesota. It has had a convincing 3-0 record against the T-Wolves in the regular season.
Denver looms on Phoenix’s side of the bracket as the No. 2 seed while the winner of another Pelicans and Lakers matchup in the first play-in game would face the Nuggets in the first round.
Here’s a look at the final Western Conference playoff picture.
Where are Phoenix Suns in the NBA’s Western Conference playoff standings?
| Place | Team | Record | Games Back | Last 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oklahoma City Thunder | 57-25 | — | 7-3 |
| 2 | Denver Nuggets | 57-25 | — | 6-4 |
| 3 | Minnesota Timberwolves | 56-26 | 1 | 6-4 |
| 4 | Los Angeles Clippers | 51-31 | 6 | 6-4 |
| 5 | Dallas Mavericks | 50-32 | 7 | 7-3 |
| 6 | Phoenix Suns | 49-33 | 8 | 7-3 |
| 7 | New Orleans Pelicans | 49-33 | 8 | 5-5 |
| 8 | Los Angeles Lakers | 47-35 | 10 | 7-3 |
| 9 | Sacramento Kings | 46-36 | 11 | 4-6 |
| 10 | Golden State Warriors | 46-36 | 11 | 8-2 |
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