Suns get one more shot

Phoenix still has a path into the National Basketball Association playoffs: the Suns are set for a second play-in game on Friday, April 17, with the West’s No. 8 seed at stake. (nba.com) The National Basketball Association’s play-in format gives the No. 7 and No. 8 teams one chance to win a playoff berth, while the No. 9 and No. 10 teams must survive an elimination game first. In the Western Conference bracket, Phoenix finished 45-37 as the No. 7 seed, Portland finished 42-40 as No. 8, the Los Angeles Clippers finished 42-40 as No. 9, and Golden State finished 37-45 as No. 10. (nba.com) That setup means the Suns’ Friday game comes after Phoenix lost the 7-versus-8 matchup and dropped into the final play-in slot. The Friday winner becomes the Western Conference’s No. 8 seed and opens the first round against the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder, which finished 64-18. (nba.com) The schedule page on National Basketball Association dot com lists the Western Conference’s last play-in game for 7 p.m. Pacific Time on Friday, April 17. The league page does not yet name the opponent on the schedule line, but the bracket shows that Phoenix will face the winner of the Clippers-Warriors game. (nba.com 1) (nba.com 2) Tickets are already being marketed for that game before the matchup is finalized. USA Today’s ticket listing said Wednesday that sellers had posted seats for Phoenix’s Friday home play-in game while the opponent was still to be determined between the Clippers and Warriors. (usatoday.com) That is standard for the play-in’s compressed calendar, which runs from April 14 through April 17 and feeds directly into the playoffs on April 18. The Suns are trying to use that extra game to avoid becoming the second Western Conference team eliminated before the first round even starts. (nba.com) (usatoday.com) Phoenix earned the higher play-in seed by finishing seventh in the West, one spot short of an automatic playoff berth reserved for the top six teams in each conference. The Suns’ 45 wins also put them three games clear of Portland and the Clippers in the final regular-season standings shown on the league bracket. (nba.com) If Phoenix wins Friday, its season continues into a best-of-seven series against Oklahoma City starting after April 18. If Phoenix loses, the Suns’ season ends in the play-in after two games. (nba.com)