The Phoenix Suns are halfway through the regular season and we already told you who their second-quarter MVP was during that important stretch of the campaign.
They remain in the playoffs despite being on a six-game Eastern Conference road trip and losing two in a row. The second of those against the Detroit Pistons without Devin Booker.
Suns have a chance to attack weakened Knicks
With a pair of games starting tonight in New York, starting with the New York Knicks, the Suns have received a favorable injury update from their opponent.
Knicks coach Mike Brown said Josh Hart (right ankle soreness) and Jalen Brunson (right ankle sprain) OUT.
Brunson said that day by day. For Hart, he mentioned the pain. #Sunbathing #Knicks
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) January 17, 2026
The Knicks will have to try to get a win against perhaps the dirtiest team in the league without Jalen Brunson or Josh Hart.
This is huge for a number of reasons, the biggest being that Booker himself remains questionable after suffering an ankle sprain himself against the Miami Heat.
He returned in that and helped them almost all the way back, but the franchise is clearly slow to produce him.
Being without him and Jalen Green is a blow, but one softened by the Knicks missing their own franchise player. As for Josh Hart’s absence?
He’s one of the few guys in the league who can match Phoenix in energy on every possession, and he’s also not the type to be bothered by Brooks’ potential antics.
New York still has some serious talent in Karl-Anthony Towns, Valley favorite Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby, but the Suns have the necessary players to slow them down.
This represents an opportunity that probably didn’t seem possible when Booker went on to win again against an Eastern Conference contender, but the Suns have actually been doing this all season.
If they played in what most see as the weaker conference, they could now be fighting for home field advantage in the first round of the postseason.
This could also be a final chance for the Suns to show the Knicks how much Nick Richards could help their cause. There’s no better display to put it in than this.
After this, it’s a trip to Brooklyn for a date with the Nets, a game that feels more winnable than this. However, if you want to make the playoffs, you have to bring that every night, and this lucky break will help with that.
#Suns #incredible #opportunity #return #winning #ways