The end of this NBA season has featured two fascinating races: the race for the final playoff spots and playoff seeding in the West, and the race to tank for the worst record in the league. In the fight for futility, the Hawks, Magic, and Mavericks have been exceptionally bad, but two teams have stood above — or below — the rest.
The Memphis Grizzlies and Phoenix Suns have been the worst of the worst. And now Phoenix has locked up the official lowest rung in the league. With the Suns’ Sunday-night loss to the Golden State Warriors and the Grizzlies’ win against Detroit, Phoenix (20-61) has clinched the highest odds of securing the No. 1 lottery pick. The Suns will have 25 percent odds. Memphis will have 19.9 percent odds.
The Suns are bad even when they have their full lineup, but they were shorthanded Sunday. Devin Booker, Josh Jackson, T.J. Warren, Marquese Chriss, Elfrid Payton, and Alan Williams all sat out with injuries. Danuel House was the Suns’ leading scorer.
Golden State, which has struggled of late, jumped to an early lead thanks to a red-hot Klay Thompson. Thompson scored 19 straight for the Warriors in the first quarter. Golden State cruised to a 117-100 win.
Phoenix’s Future
This marks the eighth-straight year Phoenix has missed the postseason. The Suns have won only two games since the end of January.
Though the Suns have played miserable basketball in recent years, the team’s young core is promising. Booker is a future star, Jackson has emerged as the season has gone on, and Chriss and Bender are interesting young pieces. It will be fascinating to see whether Phoenix decides to bring back big man Alex Len, who is currently playing on a one-year contract.
If you add a top pick to Phoenix’s roster, the Suns could be interesting in a few years. The draft lottery is slated for May 15.
