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If the NBA playoffs began today, the Phoenix Suns would not be participating for the second straight year. The team's loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night severely hurt the team's chances of making the playoffs. At 30-28, the Suns are two games behind the No. 8 seeded Houston Rockets (32-26) in the Western Conference standings.
The Suns have eight games remaining, with six of the games coming against teams ranked in the top eight of the current Western conference standings.
Friday night's showdown against the Houston Rockets is an absolute must-win game for the Suns, along with a Tuesday, April 24th meeting with the Utah Jazz who are currently ninth in the standings at 31-28.
All in all, the Suns need to win those two games and a good majority of the other six regular season games if they want to avoid missing the NBA playoffs.
For more on the Phoenix Suns, check out SB Nation's Bright Side of the Sun.