After the Phoenix Suns snuck away with a win over the Utah Jazz on Friday night in a high-scoring shooting, their In-Season Tournament hopes stay alive as they hold a 1-1 record in West Group A.
As Frank Vogel pointed out to his team in the locker room, “Way to stay fighting in this In-Season tournament. We’re still very, very much in the hunt for this thing.”
Currently leading West Group A are the Los Angeles Lakers, who boast a 3-0 record, including a win against the Suns last week.
Coming in at 2nd are the Jazz at 2-1, followed by the Suns at 1-1, then the Trail Blazers at 1-2, and finally the Grizzlies at 0-3.
Of the teams that advance, there will be a leader from each group, which the Suns almost cannot possibly be considering they lost the head-to-head matchup against the Lakers.
However, Phoenix does still have a chance to move on to the knockout round as they can enter as a Wild Card team.
From both the Western and Eastern conferences, there will be two Wild Card teams to advance.
In order for the Suns to move on as a Wild Card team, they will have to win their final two games.
And the good news is that their final two games in the In-Season Tournament group play will come against the 3-9 Trail Blazers and the 2-9 Memphis Grizzlies.
The Suns will also need some help from the Lakers, as Los Angeles will play the 2-1 Utah Jazz on Tuesday.
If the Lakers do win that matchup and the Suns win out, then Phoenix has a decent chance of moving on via a Wild Card team.
The next game for the Suns in the In-Season Tournament will be against Deandre Ayton and the Portland Trail Blazers at the Footprint Center on Tuesday.
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