Suns Face Tough Schedule w/ New Roster
Phoenix is getting ready to start their toughest 5 game stretch of the season on Wednesday night against the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors are currently the 8th seed in the Western Conference, but are capable of threatening any top seed in the playoffs.
Following the game tomorrow night in California, the Suns will return to Phoenix for 4 of the toughest games on the schedule. Fortunately the games are at home, so they have a good shot at coming out with a winning record.
There are rumors that Shaq will join the Suns tomorrow night vs. the Warriors, but because GS plays small ball like the Suns, he probably wouldn't be much of a factor anyway. What the team is really hoping for is that O'neal will be available against the Mavericks on Thursday, the last game before the All-Star break. (Buy Suns/Mavericks tickets)
Following the break, the team will face the LA Lakers on Feb. 20th - the game will be much hyped as Shaq and Kobe face each other as Western Conference foes. The acquisition of Pau Gasol in early February makes the Lakers a much stronger team - they are threatening for the best record in the West. Without Shaq, the Suns will not fair well in this contest, so it's essential that he's ready to go. (Buy Suns/Lakers tickets)
Next up are the Boston Celtics and Detroit Pistons on Feb. 22 & 24th, respectively. Kevin Garnett should be back in the lineup after an abdominal strain that's kept him out for a few games and likely the All-Star Game. The Pistons are no cakewalk either, so hope for the best from this extremely tough schedule. A 3-2 or even a 2-3 would be acceptable if Shaq doesn't start, but they'll need to do a bit better if they want to keep the #1 seed inthe West. (Buy Suns/Celtics tickets) / (Buy Suns/Pistons tickets)