Now the schedule for the Quarterfinals is set for the in-season tournament.
The Suns have to play the Lakers on the road. Then either the Kings or Pels on the road. Congrats Suns! You get to play an extra road game this year.
Suns have the reward of playing strong playoff teams like the Lakers and Kings 5 times this year.
So that is the Suns reward for going 3-1
Compare that to who Dallas is going to play.
Dallas went 2-2. Their reward for missing the tournament? They get to play the other teams that missed the tournament.
They get to play an extra game against the pathetic Trailblazer. And a extra game against the Jazz. 2 easy wins. Plus the Mavs get one of these games at home while Suns are stuck in the road the entire week.
How the hell is that fair? If the Suns end up 1 game behind the Mavs in the seeding it could because they had to play extra games against good teams.
Suns have to beat:
Lakers on the road
Kings/Pels on the road
Boston/Bucks on the road
Mavs get the luxury of:
Utah at HOME
Pathetic Portland
Suns play the Lakers on the road but the next game (if they win) is in Vegas so it’s a neutral court. Based on geography and KD being a bigger star than anyone on Sac/NOLA I’d guess the crowd would be pro-Suns too.