As the 2012 NBA season winds down, the bottom half of the Western Conference playoff spots are really crowded and close. Only three games separate the fifth seed (currently the Memphis Grizzlies) and the 10th place team (currently the Utah Jazz).
The Phoenix Suns did themselves a huge favor with a road win in Utah Wednesday night. By winning, they leapfrogged Utah, taking over the ninth spot and gained on the Houston Rockets and Denver Nuggets.
Phoenix, now 28-26, trails the Denver Nuggets for the eighth and final playoff spot, by one game. They will play Denver on Friday. The Houston Rockets are also just one game ahead of the Suns.
Here is what the standings look like as of Thursday morning:
| WESTERN CONFERENCE | ||||||||||
| Western | W | L | PCT | GB | CONF | DIV | HOME | ROAD | L 10 | STREAK |
| Oklahoma City1x | 40 | 14 | 0.741 | 0.0 | 29-10 | 9-2 | 23-5 | 17-9 | 7-3 | L 2 |
| San Antonio2 | 38 | 14 | 0.731 | 1.0 | 24-11 | 10-4 | 21-4 | 17-10 | 9-1 | W 9 |
| L.A. Lakers3 | 35 | 20 | 0.636 | 5.5 | 26-11 | 8-3 | 23-5 | 12-15 | 7-3 | W 4 |
| L.A. Clippers4 | 32 | 22 | 0.593 | 8.0 | 21-17 | 4-6 | 20-9 | 12-13 | 6-4 | L 1 |
| Memphis5 | 30 | 23 | 0.566 | 9.5 | 19-20 | 5-6 | 18-7 | 12-16 | 5-5 | L 1 |
| Dallas6 | 31 | 24 | 0.564 | 9.5 | 21-18 | 7-4 | 20-9 | 11-15 | 6-4 | W 1 |
| Houston7 | 29 | 25 | 0.537 | 11.0 | 18-19 | 5-6 | 20-8 | 9-17 | 5-5 | W 1 |
| Denver8 | 29 | 25 | 0.537 | 11.0 | 14-23 | 3-7 | 15-12 | 14-13 | 5-5 | L 1 |
| Phoenix | 28 | 26 | 0.519 | 12.0 | 18-18 | 7-5 | 16-11 | 12-15 | 6-4 | W 3 |
| Utah | 28 | 27 | 0.509 | 12.5 | 18-20 | 7-4 | 19-8 | 9-19 | 5-5 | L 1 |
| Portland | 26 | 29 | 0.473 | 14.5 | 18-20 | 4-8 | 19-10 | 7-19 | 5-5 | W 1 |
| Minnesota | 25 | 31 | 0.446 | 16.0 | 19-21 | 4-6 | 13-14 | 12-17 | 3-7 | L 4 |
| Golden State | 21 | 32 | 0.396 | 18.5 | 14-21 | 7-6 | 11-16 | 10-16 | 3-7 | W 1 |
| Sacramento | 19 | 35 | 0.352 | 21.0 | 14-23 | 2-8 | 14-13 | 5-22 | 4-6 | L 1 |
| New Orleanso | 14 | 40 | 0.259 | 26.0 | 8-29 | 1-8 | 6-21 | 8-19 | 4-6 | W 1 |
Talk more Suns at Bright Side of the Sun.
For the latest AZ sports, follow us on Twitter @SBNArizona and "Like" us on Facebook.
