Should Suns Rest Starters After Clinching Playoff Spot?
The Phoenix Suns are ready for the postseason.
Their win over the San Antonio Spurs saw the team accomplish a few different things: The victory marked their sixth consecutive win, tied for the longest streak of their regular season (along with being the NBA's current best).
The Suns also locked in a top six playoff seed, meaning they're able to enjoy the play-in from afar and rest after Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Clippers.
Phoenix is now locked into the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference postseason, at least ensuring they have homecourt advantage in the first round.
With three games left, the question must be asked: Should the Suns rest their starters?
Coach Monty Williams was asked about that at practice today. He gave the following answer:
"We're talking about it as a staff. We haven't talked about it with the guys. I feel like there's some things that need to play out first. Talking with the players, we feel like we have a decent idea of what we're trying to do with certain groups and certain combinations. I feel like the more games you play and work on that stuff, the better," he said.
"I think you have to deal with what you have and you hope you can put the guys in position to be successful. But I think our guys understand the meat and potatoes of what we're trying to do. Whether that's spacing, whether that's coverages - I think we have a decent understanding of that. It's on me to put the guys out there and combinations together to be the most effective … I don't know if there's a right way to do it, I think you could come up with all kinds of answers. If you listen to too much of that stuff it will drive you crazy, so I'm trying to get the right information and make the right decisions."
On one hand, the Suns might be wise to get Durant more time on the court with his guys after playing just seven games with Phoenix, though they are 7-0 in that stretch.
On the other hand, the 82 game regular season is an unforgiving one, especially with the Suns ready to cap it off by playing three games in four days.
Like Williams said, there's no exact right way to approach where the Suns are at. It'll be interesting to see how Phoenix handles the final three games.
