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The Phoenix Suns hit a rough patch of their early season schedule, going 1-3 against some quality opponents, and they have fallen in most NBA power rankings as a result.
ESPN's Marc Stein has the Suns (4-7) slipping two spots from last week's poll to No. 25, while Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports has the Suns tumbling to No. 22, a slide of six spots from his rankings last week following the team's three straight losses.
SB Nation's own Seth Rosenthal actually has Phoenix up one spot to No. 23 this week – leapfrogging the Toronto Raptors – despite the team's lackluster record over the past four games. Rosenthal notes the Suns first unit's tendency to fall behind early and rely on the bench to dig them out of a hole. When facing opponents as tough as the Miami Heat, Los Angeles Lakers and Chicago Bulls, those big deficits have proven to be insurmountable.